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Glass_ 
Book_ 



63d Congress) 
2d Session ) 



HOUSE OP REPRESENTATIVES 



/Document 
\ No. 1147 



M.S. C 



SEABORN ANDERSON RODDENBERY 

( Late a Representative from Georgia) 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 

DELIVERED IN THE 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND THE SENATE 

OF THE UNITED STATES 









SIXTY-THIRD CONGRESS 
SECOND SESSION 



Proceedings in the House 
February 8, 1914 



Proceedings in the Senate 
July 27, 1914 



PREPARED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF 
THE JOINT COMMITTEE ON PRINTING 




WASHINGTON 
1914 










a of o, 

MAS 1915 



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I*) 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



Page. 

Proceedings in the House ;) 

Prayer by Rev. Henry N. Couden, D. D 5,7 

Memorial addresses by — 

Mr. Frank Park, of Georgia 9 

Mr. Samuel J. Tribble, of Georgia 17 

Mr. Edward Watts Saunders, of Virginia 20 

Mr. William R. Green, of Iowa 25 

Mr. William Charles Adamson, of Georgia 28 

Mr. Simeon D. Fess, of Ohio 31 

Mr. Charles H. Sloan, of Nebraska 38 

Mr. Charles Gordon Edwards, of Georgia 41 

Mr. Solomon Francis Prouty, of Iowa 44 

Mr. Gordon Lee, of Georgia 48 

Mr. Thomas Montgomery Rell, of Georgia 52 

Mr. Frank R. Willis, of Ohio 55 

Mr. Dudley Mays Hughes, of Georgia 60 

Mr. William Schley Howard, of Georgia 63 

Mr. J. Randall Walker, of Georgia 72 

Mr. John Charles Floyd, of Arkansas 75 

Mr. Charles Lafayette Rartlett, of Georgia 78 

Mr. James Thomas Heflin, of Alabama 80 

Consideration of bill to name post-office site in Thomas- 

ville, Ga., " Roddenbery Park" 82 

Proceedings in the Senate 97 

Memorial address by — 

Mr. Hoke Smith, of Georgia 103 

Passage of bill to name post-office site in Thomasville, 

Ga., "Roddenbery Park" 101 



[3] 







HON. SEABORN A.RODDENBERY 



DEATH OF HON. SEABORN ANDERSON RODDENBERY 



Proceedings in the House of Representatives 

Saturday, September 27, 1913 

The House met at 12 o'clock noon. 

The Chaplain, Rev. Henry N. Couden, D. D., offered the 
following prayer: 

Eternal God, our heavenly Father, in whom is all wis- 
dom, power, and goodness, increase our faith and renew 
our confidence in Thine almightiness that we may work 
and faint not, reaping where we sow, that discipline may 
have its perfect work until we all come into oneness with 
Thee in intent and purpose. 

We count time, but with Thee one day is as a thousand 
years and a thousand years as one day, and Thou art 
patient. 

The air is full of farewells to the dying, and men go 
about the streets mourning, unmindful of the immortality 
of the soul. Again Thou hast put forth Thy hand and 
taken a Member from this body to the larger life — young, 
strong, vigorous, with high hopes and noble aspirations, 
leaving behind him an enviable record. Comfort us and 
all his friends, and be to the stricken wife and children a 
power of faith and hope and confidence, that they may 
look forward with bright anticipations to a family reunion 
in love and affection where partings shall be no more 
forever. And glory and honor and praise be Thine, in 
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

Mr. Bell of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I present the follow- 
ing resolutions, which I send to the desk and ask to have 
read. 

[5] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Roddenbery 



The Clerk read as follows : 

House resolution 265 

Resolved, That the House has heard with profound sorrow of 
the death of Hon. Seaborn Anderson Roddenrery, a Representa- 
tive from the State of Georgia. 

Resolved, That a committee of 18 Members of the House, with 
such Members of the Senate as may be joined, be appointed to 
attend the funeral. 

Resolved, That the Sergeant at Arms of the House be authorized 
and directed to take such steps as may be necessary for carrying 
out the provisions of these resolutions, and that the necessary 
expenses in connection therewith be paid out of the contingent 
fund of the House. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the 
Senate and transmit a copy thereof to the family of the deceased. 

The Speaker. The question is on agreeing to the reso- 
lution. 

The resolution was agreed to. 

The Speaker appointed the following committee to 
attend the funeral of the late Representative: 

Mr. Bartlett, Mr. Adamson, Mr. Hughes of Georgia, Mr. 
Lee of Georgia, Mr. Hardwick, Mr. Walker, Mr. Crisp, 
Mr. Edwards, Mr. Tribble, Mr. Howard, Mr. Bell of 
Georgia, Mr. Hill, Mr. Godwin of North Carolina, Mr. 
Maguire of Nebraska, Mr. McLaughlin, Mr. Hamilton of 
Michigan, Mr. Moore, and Mr. Willis. 

The Speaker. The Clerk will report the other resolu- 
tion. 

The Clerk read as follows: 

Resolved, That as a further mark of respect this House do now 
adjourn. 

The Speaker. The question is on agreeing to the reso- 
lution. 

The resolution was agreed to; and accordingly (at 1 
o'clock and 45 minutes p. m.) the House adjourned until 
Monday, September 29, 1913, at 12 o'clock noon. 

[6] 



Proceedings in the House 



Monday, December 8, 1013 

Mr. Park. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent for the 
present consideration of the order which I send to the 
Clerk's desk. 

The Speaker. The Clerk will report the same. 

The Clerk read as follows: 

Ordered, That Sunday, the 8th day of February, 1914, at 12 
o'clock noon, be set apart for addresses on the life, character, 
and public services of Hon. S. A. Roddenbery, late a Represent- 
ative from the State of Georgia. 

The Speaker. The question is on agreeing to the order. 
The order was agreed to. 



Sunday, February 8, 191k 

The House met at 12 o'clock noon, and was called to 
order by Mr. Bartlett as Speaker pro tempore. 

The Chaplain, Rev. Henry N. Couden, D. D., offered the 
following prayer: 

Father in heaven, let Thy spirit descend copiously upon 
us as we thus assemble in memory of the departed; men 
who by their nobility of character, intellectual attain- 
ments, and patriotic zeal won for themselves the confi- 
dence of their fellows who selected them to be their repre- 
sentatives in this body, to enact into law the things which 
make for good government; an honor which challenges 
the respect of men and has secured for them an enviable 
place in American history. 

Their work is done; their souls have passed into the 
realm where character will be their passport into the 
larger fields of endeavor prepared by the Giver of all good 
gifts. We thank Thee for their lives, for their work, for 
their example. May we work and faint not, trust and 

[7] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Roddenbery 



doubt not, and be ready when the summons comes to 
pass on into the larger life, prepared for whatever awaits 
us; in the spirit of the Master. Amen. 

The Speaker pro tempore. The Clerk will report the 
special order for to-day. 
The Clerk read as follows: 

On motion of Mr. Park, by unanimous consent, 

Ordered, That Sunday, February 8, 1914, be set apart for ad- 
dresses upon the life, character, and public services of the Hon. 
S. A. Roddenbery, late a Representative from the State of Georgia. 

Mr. Park. Mr. Speaker, I offer the following resolution, 
which I send to the desk to be read. 

The Speaker pro tempore. The gentleman from Georgia 
offers a resolution which the Clerk will report. 

The Clerk read as follows: 

House resolution 407 

Resolved, That the business of the House be now suspended 
that opportunity may be given for tribute to the memory of Hon. 
Seaborn Anderson Roddenbery, late a Member of this House 
from the State of Georgia. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the 
Senate. 

Resolved, That the Clerk send a copy of these resolutions to the 
family of the deceased. 

Resolved, That at the conclusion of to-day's proceedings the 
House, as a particular mark of respect to the memory of the 
deceased, and in recognition of his distinguished public career, 
do stand adjourned. 



[8] 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 



Address of Mr. Park, of Georgia 

Mr. Speaker : " Life is a dome of many-colored glass 
that dims the bright radiance of futurity until death 
crumbles it in fragments." It is then only we may hope 
to see clearly. 

Twice within the last four years have Representatives 
of the second congressional district of Georgia been 
called from this House to the " house not made with 
hands " — James Matthew Griggs, of Dawson, genial, 
gifted, masterful, whose bright life, as a sun, set while it 
was yet day; Seaborn Anderson Roddenbery, of Thomas- 
ville, earnest, tireless, forceful, now enshrined a martyr 
in the hearts of the people. 

Within the past 12 months some score Members of this 
body have gone to the " great beyond," reminding us that 
life is uncertain, death is sure, and that we are soon to 
follow. 

Some have gone the unknown way, 
While some await the call to rest; 
Who knoweth whether it is best 

For those who went or those who stay? 

The ceaseless clank of eternity's clock stroke is sound- 
ing the march of death, in whose unbroken line " soul 
touches soul; the muster roll of life eternal knows no 
gaps." 

Anderson Roddenbery, as he was known to his district, 
was born on his father's farm in Decatur County, Ga., 
on the 12th of January, 1870. He moved to Thomas 
County in his childhood. 

[9] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Roddenbery 



His early days were spent alternately on the farm and 
in a country store at Cairo, Ga. 

He received his education in the common schools and 
at Mercer University. In his young manhood he taught 
school, and in his spare time studied law. 

For a period he held the chair of languages and mathe- 
matics at South Georgia College, where he performed 
excellent, lasting service. 

In 1891 he was married to Miss Johnnie Butler, a mem- 
ber of the distinguished Butler family of Mitchell County, 
Ga. His married life was happy, made cheerful by his de- 
voted wife, the mother of his two sons and three daugh- 
ters; and this good woman, the greatest loser, is the chief 
mourner for him we commemorate to-day. 

The people of Thomas County early recognized his 
fitness for leadership, and chose him, at the age of 21, 
their representative in the Georgia Legislature, where he 
served with distinction in the sessions of 1892, 1893. 

In 1894 he was admitted to the bar, and forced his way 
rapidly to the forefront by dint of brains and pluck. 

For four years he was the honored judge of the county 
court of his county, after which his talents were engaged 
in practicing law and in farming. 

For two terms he was mayor of Thomasville, standing 
squarely for clean government and honest enforcement 
of law, and he had it. 

For four years he was president of the board of educa- 
tion of Thomas County, during which time education was 
given a great forward impetus. 

On the 16th day of February, 1910, he was elected to 
the Sixty-first Congress to fill an unexpired term, and was 
a Member of the House when he died. 

Those who served with him can best speak of his life 
and labors here; I tell of them as we of his district 
knew of them in southwestern Georgia. 

[10] 



Address of Mr. Park, of Georgia 



His friend and pastor, Dr. J. M. Rushin, of Boston, (la., 
baptized him at an early age and received him into the 
fellowship of his church. 

He writes that — 

As a boy he was exceptionally bright, lovable in his ways, a 
dutiful son, and universally popular with his comrades. 

He developed into a brainy, forceful character, always on the 
right side of every moral question. 

He further writes : 

He was the friend and adviser of the poor, and only eternity 
will reveal his benefactions to that class. 

To the struggling boy or girl who desired an education his 
means were largely employed. He was a friend that you could 
count on at all times and under all circumstances; he was bold 
and aggressive in his advocacy of what he conceived to be right, 
true and loyal to his friends and to the cause he espoused. 

The same good man adds : " There is much I could say 
about my friend and brother, but perhaps this will 
suffice." That brief description is complete; it is a per- 
fect eulogy. I can add but little. 

Mr. Speaker, I would prefer that praise by that good 
man to the thunderous applause of this House when filled 
with its Members. 

That simple, truthful statement stands like living rock 
between the dead and any possible detraction forever. 

Many saw but the surface; this Christian man looked 
deep into his soul and plainly spoke what he clearly saw 
without qualifying word or fulsome phrase; nor said he 
too much. 

His guide in all things was " conscience, the incor- 
ruptible judge that sits in the secret chambers of every 
man's soul." 

As a judge he tempered justice with mercy, and all the 
ends he aimed at were his country's, God's, and truth's. 

He devoted his life to service, and, be it said to his 
honor, he labored to uplift humanity. 



[11] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Roddenbery 

He believed that in the moral order men should live 
without hindering the lives of others, should live to aid 
others in attaining more complete life, and that a day will 
come when the individual will be blessed in " hand and 
foot and soul four-square, fashioned without fault," fit 
closely into the moral order as the perfect ashlar. 

He welcomed the Boys' Corn Club meetings as splendid 
opportunities for encouragement, praise, and hope for 
those whose hands will soon hold the helm of state and 
the great business of life. 

For years he fought under the brave banner of State- 
wide prohibition and lived to see a near realization of 
victory, and with his great coworkers, Judge Covington, of 
Moultrie, and Judge Harrell, of Bainbridge, he turned the 
tide in favor of prohibition in his district; and to-day it 
stands a permanent sentiment writ in the hearts of the 
people and upon the statutes of his State. 

The multitudes who thronged the streets and gathered 
at his grave paid loving tribute, as from all the district 
they came and lowered into his last resting place their be- 
loved "Alexander H. Stephens of the wire-grass country." 

He was* a prepared lawyer, a bold and skillful adver- 
sary, and at times his eloquent argument before court 
and jury flashed powerful and brilliant. Such was his 
reputation that when his name appeared on any docket 
opposing counsel knew that his client's cause demanded 
all his powers to meet a foeman, at alL points, worthy of 
his steel. 

In private life he was a loyal, devoted husband; a 
gentle, guiding father; a loving brother; a friend without 
guile; a fair and brave antagonist; a generous neighbor, 
respecting the rights of others. 

As we of the second district viewed him in Washington, 
he was the sentinel on the watchtower of white supremacy 
in State and Nation; no menace to its integrity dare 



[12] 



Address of Mr. Park, of Georgia 



approach by stealth or boldness without meeting his ring- 
ing challenge. 

In clarion tones he sounded protest to the boasted 
superiority of American civilization, which permits a 
legal conjunction of a paranoiac child of the civilized 
centuries with a dark denizen of that twilight zone which 
marks the moral boundaries between habitations of crea- 
tures in God's image and dens of the inarticulate anthro- 
poid of the fierce, savage jungle. 

Roused by his clear call, the Anglo-Saxon blood gave 
instant answer, through the quick sensibilities of the 
popular press, from Maine to Texas and from the Lakes 
to the Mexic Sea. And some day this great Congress will 
mold the die to stamp his true thought into law — in the 
judgment of many, the best for the future of all the races. 

A soldier of Napoleon lay stricken on the field; a sur- 
geon searched the ghastly wound above his heart, and as 
the probe went down the soldier said, "A little deeper, 
Doctor, you will find the emperor." 

Thus with Anderson Roddenbery, had you searched 
deep in his bosom you would have found the toiling 
masses. 

He fought beyond his strength; he strove beyond his 
power; he lived and labored in hopes for them, and liter- 
ally gave his life for them. 

A stripling Ivanhoe, he entered here the lists, with 
bright lance poised, fluttering the pennon of the people's 
rights; none dared to think that in his boyish form there 
throbbed a lion heart. 

No Christian knight ever struck with less fear the 
shield of doughty foe with mortal point until it rang again 
or rushed to onset upon the plains of Ashby than Rod- 
denbery when he poised a logician's lance and charged 
for what he felt was right. 



[13] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Roddenbery 



Recognizing the simple justice in pensions for destitute 
and invalid Union veterans who saw service, his honest 
spirit indignantly rose against the pension buccaneer who 
filches by circumstantial falsehood the sweat-soaked dol- 
lars of the masses covered into the Treasury by govern- 
mental fiat. 

How his battling lance struck and struck again and 
shivered against the adamant of what he felt, and many 
feel, an unholy Gibraltar of pension fraud. 

Too zealous, some say, who did not know the dauntless 
soul that knew the right and knowing dared maintain. 

Too prodigal of strength, some say, to fight without 
hope, but with undying faith in his cause; and, when weak 
with ceaseless fight, worsted by powerful odds, then burst 
his mighty heart and at the feet of all his country he fell 
down and spilled his life an incense, a free offering upon 
the altar of people's rights. 

And in the end men will ask, not was the incense 
sweet, but was the altar pure. 

I travel in thought with a noble writer who said : 

It is not only in finished work that we should honor earnest 
effort. A spirit goes out of the man who means execution which 
outlives the most untimely ending. All who have meant good 
work with their whole hearts have done good work, although they 
die before they sign it. 

Every heart that has beat strongly and cheerfully has left a 
hopeful impulse in the world and bettered the tradition of man- 
kind; and even if death catch people like a pitfall and in mid 
career, laying out vast projects, planning monstrous foundations 
flushed with hope, they should at once be tripped and silenced, 
is there not something brave and spirited in such a termination? 
And does not life go down with better grace, foaming in full body 
over a precipice? 

When the Greeks made their fine saying that " Those whom the 
gods love die young," I can not but think they had this sort of 
death in mind; for surely at whatever age it overtake the man, 



[14] 



Address of Mr. Park, of Georgia 



this is to die young. Death has not taken so much as an illusion 
from his heart. In the hot fit of life, a tiptoe on the highest 
point of being, he passes at a bound onto the other side. 

This is but dim likeness of the man as he left it upon 
the hearts of his countrymen in the second district of 
Georgia. He sprung from the masses of the people and 
derived his patent of nobility direct from God. 

The toiling multitudes believed in him; no man so hum- 
ble or so poor that did not feel when he greeted Rodden- 
bery that he clasped the hand of help and sympathy. 

He felt that the rich and powerful could care for 
themselves in the world's broad field of battle, and the 
poor needed help and encouragement. 

At Thermopylae stands a granite reminder of the de- 
voted 300, bearing the inscription — 

Go tell it, stranger, at Lacedaemon that we died here in obedi- 
ence to her law. 

So the shaft which the grand women of the second 
district of Georgia are raising to the memory of their 
champion of right, morality, and sobriety should bear 
the words, " Go tell it to future generations that he lived 
and died contending for his convictions of justice and 
right." 

Toward the end he said to her who was dearer to him 
than the ruddy drops that fed his heart : 

I have lived my convictions. I only wish I could live longer to 
provide better for my family. 

He came from the great masses of the people, from 
whence have ever come the truly great. He was loyal and 
true to the masses. He had learned the full meaning of 
the immortal plowman's words: 

The honest man, tho' e'er sae poor, 
Is king o' men for a' that. 

[15] . 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Roddenbery 

He early learned in life's battle that as loyal, noble, and 
great a heart can beat within the homespun shirt of the 
toiler in mine or field or factory as pulsates beneath the 
royal purple of a prince; and that is why men love the 
memory and mourn the death of this golden-hearted 
knight of the people, who lived and died without fear 
and without reproach. 



[16] 



Address of Mr. Tribble, of Georgia 

Mr. Speaker: Judge Park, the successor of Judge Rod- 
denbery, has described in his remarks the life of Judge 
Roddenbery as seen by the people of his home in Thomas- 
ville. He requested me to refer in my remarks to his 
life as seen in Washington. 

The first Sunday after my arrival in Washington my 
steps carried me to the Fifth Baptist Church, where John 
E. Briggs, a Georgia man, is pastor. I did not know Judge 
Roddenbery then, and made his acquaintance at this 
church. The following week a stranger came to my office 
and requested me to lecture at Falls Church. I wondered 
who had recommended me to this stranger. When I 
visited Falls Church I knew without inquiry, because I 
found that Judge Roddenbery was much loved by the 
membership of that church. 

From the first day of our acquaintance we became fast 
friends, and our friendship became so noticeable that it 
was commented upon on the floor of the House. The day 
he left Washington he bade me good-by, full of hope; he 
thought he would return to Washington in a few weeks, 
though he realized he was seriously ill. He thought he 
had temporary heart trouble and expected to return and 
amend the pending bill. He lived only a few days. 

I never knew a man for whom I had higher regard; 
he was a Christian statesman. If he had sorrows and 
troubles, he never allowed them to becloud the lives of 
others. Wherever he went he scattered sunshine, and his 
presence dispelled cares. 

One of the chief characteristics of his life was he loved 
his fellow man. When he entered the portals of the eter- 

57974°— 14 2 [17] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Roddenbery 



nal home he found written on the Lamb's Book of Life 
by the King of that home, " When I was sick and in prison 
ye visited me; when I was hungry ye fed me; when I was 
thirsty ye gave me drink." 

And this his epitaph shall be: 

Now ended are his days. 
None knew him but to love him, 

None named him but to praise. 

I regard Judge Roddenbery as one of the greatest men 
Georgia has ever produced. He was an indomitable 
fighter, conscientious, and courageous to a fault, if man 
can be. He was a giant in intellect. I was closely iden- 
tified with him in the pension fight of the Sixty-second 
Congress. I made my first speech in the second session of 
the Sixty-second Congress on pensions. Judge Rodden- 
bery was delighted with my outspoken stand, and out- 
lined with me a plan to make a determined fight against 
pensions. He thought by preventing passage of pension 
bills the attention of the country could be forcibly called 
to the unchecked pension increase; that the newspapers 
would take up the unusual procedure commonly called 
"filibuster" and thus bring it to the attention of the 
public. I have seen him hold the floor all day and until 
12 o'clock at night when the absence of a quorum would 
prevent the passage of the omnibus pension bill. The bill 
would probably pass at a later date, but in the meantime 
the attention of the country was riveted upon this unusual 
procedure. 

He was one of the best parliamentarians of the House, 
and his knowledge of strategic parliamentary rules often 
brought defeat to measures he opposed. Speaker Clark 
recognized his ability and very often called upon him to 
preside when important measures were Up for passage. 
Speaker Clark stated shortly after his death that if he 
had been called upon to select three of the best parlia- 

[18] 



Address of Mr. Tribble, of Georgia 



mentarians of the Sixty-second Congress, Judge Rodden- 
bery would have been one of the three. 

On account of my intimacy with Judge Roddenbery the 
membership of the House spoke frequently of him to me 
before and since his death. I have heard distinguished 
statesmen say that they considered Judge Roddenbery one 
of the purest and one of the most intellectual Members 
of the Sixty-second Congress. He was a student and 
master of subjects in detail. His devotion to his books 
and official duties of his district kept him at his desk too 
much for his declining health. He loved the open-air life, 
but the charm of mastering congressional questions 
chained him to his desk. Judge Roddenbery attended 
to every detail of office correspondence. Requests from 
humble citizens may have been small and unimportant 
to many people, but they were large and important to 
him. The life of Judge Roddenbery is a symbol of 
righteousness, and his spotless name is a priceless inherit- 
ance for his family. 

Mr. Speaker, frequent are the chairs made vacant in 
this House. The life of a Congressman who takes part in 
legislation, meets home demands, with constant political 
contests to retain his seat, is a ceaseless struggle, and 
therefore let me remind you that he is liable to forget his 
full duty to the God who gave him life. 

What have you done? my Lord will say when we meet at the end 
of the King's highway. 
Did you give the mother back her boy? 
Did you mend the children's broken toy? 
Did you soothe the cares the world's annoy? 
What have you done? my Lord will say when we meet at the end 
of the King's highway. 



[19] 



Address of Mr. Saunders, of Virginia 

Mr. Speaker: Another colleague has left us. Another 
vibrant voice is hushed. Pallid death has stilled forever 
the activities of that flaming spirit we knew in the flesh 
as Seaborn A. Roddenbery. He died in harness, a slave 
to duty, self-immolated on the altar of toil. In his unre- 
mitting application, in his eager response to every call to 
service, he failed to heed the limitations imposed by a 
fragile physique, which established barriers that he could 
not pass without loosing the silver cord and breaking the 
golden bowl of life. I fancy that he knew this. I fancy 
that in the silent watches of the night, when he communed 
with his own spirit, there was borne in upon him the con- 
viction that, in the strenuous discharge of his self-imposed 
duties as a Member of this House, he was literally taking 
his life in his hand, was deliberately shortening a career 
that was rich in its promise of usefulness and honors. 
But so intense were his convictions, so ardent his spirit, so 
vehement his noble rage against wrong and wrongdoing, 
whether among men of high or low degree, that all con- 
sideration of self was eliminated when he threw down 
his gage of battle in behalf of a cause that enlisted his 
sympathies and enchained his convictions. He must have 
counted a life spent in battling for the right as a life well 
lost. Not otherwise can we explain the strain to which he 
deliberately subjected a frail constitution in the discharge 
of a devoted and unselfish service. A Member of Congress 
sooner or later becomes associated with some particular 
phase of the work of the House, either as an advocate or 
an opponent. In the role thus assumed, whether by 

[20] 



Address of Mr. Saunders, of Virginia 

choice or force of circumstances, we find our level and 
make or unmake ourselves in the estimation of our col- 
leagues and of the country. Mr. Roddenbery's chief work 
during his all too hrief career in the House of Representa- 
tives was that of a tireless, indefatigable, and resourceful 
opponent of omnihus pension bills. With unerring preci- 
sion he put his finger on the unworthy and undeserving 
who have found, and continue to find, a place in our pen- 
sion system for lack of a sufficient, collective manhood 
in this body to resist these ignoble demands and disre- 
gard the political advantage that is supposed to attach 
to legislation of this character. 

His task was a hopeless and a thankless one, and fre- 
quent defeat would have deterred a less bold spirit from 
renewing the conflict. But, like Anta3us, who was re- 
freshed and invigorated when hurled to his mother earth, 
our friend seemed to find in defeat an excuse for further 
effort and an inspiration to greater activity. He soon as- 
certained that to be most effective in his chosen field of 
combat it was not sufficient to be a keen and logical de- 
bater, or to limit his activities to the cut and thrust, the 
parry and return, that mark our parliamentary contests 
and bring to mind the picture of the ancient duello. To 
be most effective it was necessary to call to his aid the 
resources that are furnished to the diligent student in the 
vast body of congressional precedents. Hence he became 
a student of parliamentary law, and, wielding the weapons 
thereby afforded, he was soon a very thorn in the flesh 
of his harassed and wondering adversaries. And thus 
he grew to the fullness of his stature in the esteem and 
admiration of his colleagues. There was no element of 
malice or personal antagonism in his attitude. Fully rec- 
ognizing the propriety of a pension system founded in 
justice and right, and dealing with the men who did actual 
service in the cause of the Union, he was ablaze with in- 



[21] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Roddenbery 



dignation against that class of unworthy pensioners who 
have been aptly described as " pension buccaneers." He 
lashed them, and the efforts to pension them, with vivid 
invective and glowing rhetoric, well knowing that he was 
fighting a losing cause. But he took counsel neither of 
his fears nor his hopes. He was contented to do his duty 
as he saw it. In his own words, he lived his convictions, 
and in his closing hours this reflection must have afforded 
him much gracious comfort. In his parliamentary com- 
bats he gave hard blows and received returns with equa- 
nimity, but he was unfailing in his courtesy and never 
overstepped the line of propriety or hit below the belt. 
In these contests, when smitten on one cheek he did not 
turn the other, but sought to make his return with usury. 
In this he often succeeded. His mind was keen, analytical, 
fertile, and resourceful. 

In addition, unremitting study had supplied him with 
so abundant a store of facts and figures, of repartee, and 
illustration that he was a foeman worthy of any man's 
steel. He was loyal to his friends and to the cause which 
he espoused. In their behalf he spared neither time nor 
endeavor, but expended himself with a lavish zeal that 
recked little of his own interests. To these habits of pro- 
fuse endeavor, of generous and lavish expenditure of 
time, talent, and energy, may be traced with unerring 
precision the untimely termination of a career that was 
fairly flowering into its highest usefulness. There was no 
selfish purpose in his make-up. So far as it is given to 
mortal nature to be, he was altruistic in that field of work 
and endeavor which had early brought him into favor 
with the people of his State and in due time marked him 
for a seat in this parliamentary Chamber, so often and so 
justly acclaimed as the greatest legislative body in the 
world. In the darkest and most hopeless hours of what- 
ever cause he championed he was cheerful, alert, and 



[22] 



Address of Mr. Saunders, of Virginia 

sanguine, if not of immediate at least of ultimate success. 
" His courage never faltered. He was stirring, potent, 
tireless, resourceful, filled with the joy and fire of battle." 
Others have told of his early struggles, his success as a 
teacher, his victories at the bar, his triumphs on the 
hustings. He did not wait on success. He achieved it. 
His private life was beautiful, and his devotion to his wife 
and children has been noted as a conspicuous feature in 
his strong and notable character. He was trusted by his 
fellow men because he deserved to be, because he was 
earnest, hearty, true, clean, and brave. The pastor who 
received him into the church, and pronounced the bene- 
diction at the grave, wrote of him that he was a friend 
who could be counted on at all times and under all cir- 
cumstances, that he was bold and aggressive in his advo- 
cacy of what he conceived to be right, true and loyal to 
his friends and to the cause which he espoused, and 
always on the right side of every moral question. Some- 
times these things are said under the impulse of that 
charitable disposition which inclines us to say nothing, 
save what is good, of the dead. But in this case these are 
the words of truth and soberness, not of lavish and indis- 
criminating eulogy. We mourn a good, strong, brave, 
clean man. His life should be an inspiration to his peo- 
ple, at once so gentle, and with the elements so well mixed, 
that all the world which knew him was prompt to say, 
" This was a man." He was one of the forces that have 
contributed life, and hope, and power to this generation. 
No soldier on a forlorn hope ever rendered himself up 
more freely to the call of duty than our colleague. He 
kept his faith and fought his fight without the blare of 
trumpets or the boom of guns, day by day holding his 
post with unflinching tenacity in the very shadow of ap- 
proaching death. If to-day is better than yesterday, and 
to-morrow will be better than to-day, it is because men 



[23] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Roddenbery 

like S. A. Roddenbery have lived and have eagerly pressed 
forward toward the mark of the prize of their high calling. 
The reflection that such men do not die in vain tempers 
our sense of loss in his death. The fleeting breath can 
never be recalled to its mansion. So, in reverent submis- 
sion to the eternal wisdom that orders all things well, let 
us say of our friend, " Peace to his ashes." 



f24] 



Address of Mr. Green, of Iowa 

Mr. Speaker: There may be some who would not have 
expected me to be present on this occasion. I was not 
intimately acquainted with Mr. Roddenbery. Personally 
I saw but little of him. I knew him best by his work in 
this Chamber. Here his course was such that we found 
little in common and seldom accorded in our votes. As 
a descendant of New England ancestors I had inherited 
with my blood principles, and possibly prejudices, to 
which he was intensely opposed. My education and early 
associations led me in paths of thought which diverged 
from his as widely as the poles. As the son of a Union 
soldier my views often conflicted with the sentiments 
which he so freely and positively expressed, and I have 
felt, and feel now, that he and I represented in some 
degree the extreme views of two sections of our country. 

But, Mr. Speaker, I trust that the time will never come 
when such matters will cloud my judgment as to the 
merits of a political opponent or prevent my paying a 
deserved tribute to his memory. Mr. Roddenbery's life 
and character were such that I wish to-day to add, if I 
can, a few sentences to show the esteem in which he was 
held by those with whom he so often contended. 

I do not mean by what I have said to indicate that he 
and I ever had any personal differences. On the con- 
trary, such personal relations as we had were cordial. 
The statements which I have made and some that I shall 
hereafter make are because I feel that they might to some 
extent add force to my words if the circumstances under 
which they were uttered were understood by those who 
might chance to read them. 

[25] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Roddenbery 



I shall never forget the first time I ever saw Mr. Rod- 
denbery and heard him speak on this floor. When he 
rose the House was in some disorder, and one who seeks 
to address it under such circumstances is like a swimmer 
struggling against tide and wave. Few succeed by their 
own personality in quelling such a disturbance, and he, 
least of all, seemed capable of coping with it. As I 
looked I saw that he was so slight of build that he seemed 
lost in this great Hall. To add to his difficulties, it was 
apparent, as he began to speak, that the majority of the 
House were not in sympathy with his purpose, and at first 
the turmoil only swelled the louder. But as he proceeded 
he threw himself into the debate with such indomitable 
force and energy that his slender frame quivered with 
emotion, his voice rose strong above the uproar, his 
spirit blazed forth in burning words, and the House, in 
admiration for the man, gave respectful attention. 

Thus it was always with him. In whatever part he took 
in debate he entered into the thick of the contest with his 
whole soul. Opposition, however powerful, instead of 
daunting him caused him to rise to new heights of 
endeavor. Time and again he fought single-handed 
against a majority, and whatever the result, and though 
often the odds were too heavy against him, he was never 
cast down by defeat nor exalted by victory. 

Possibly if this were all I should not be here to-day, but 
he had other and higher characteristics. Mr. Roddenbery 
fought not for mere love of forensic combat, but for the 
principles which he professed and wished to establish. 
One great source of his strength was that the rugged 
honesty of the man was reflected in his very countenance. 
Like every noble soul he was candor itself. He had no 
small tricks, no dissimulation, and was incapable of 
deceit. Thus he won the respect of the House, and with 
respect consideration. 

[26] 



Address of Mr. Green, of Iowa 



Mr. Roddenbery typified in a large degree public men of 
a bygone age. A nortbern political historian, himself 
well known to fame in public life, has said that the 
southern statesmen of the old school were remarkable 
in their freedom from any taint or shadow of corruption, 
and that with them personal gain was always subordi- 
nated to the public service. In the present day it has 
become common to insinuate that men of high character 
are seldom found in public life, and that our legislators 
have deteriorated from the standards of the past. Mr. 
Roddenbery was a fine type of the public man that his 
section can and does so often produce, and his life and 
character showed that old-time virtues have not become 
extinct in our political life. He was needed here, and 
yet, Mr. Speaker, it is not strange to me that the inexo- 
rable hand of death beckoned to him early. He would 
not, perhaps could not, spare or save himself. His 
strength was sapped by his labors. The consuming fire 
of his energy rose too high for his delicate frame. The 
soul was too great for the physical man, and his devotion 
to duty was such that it demanded life itself. 

But such men are not dead; they live in the hearts of 
their countrymen. The verdict of history will be that 
he was notable in those qualities which go to make up 
the best and strongest characters and was a man of whom 
his State may well be proud. I doubt not that his grate- 
ful fellow citizens will long remember his services and 
that time will only make his memory the brighter. 



[27] 



Address of Mr. Adamson, of Georgia 

Mr. Speaker : I have never doubted that "A good name 
is rather to be chosen than great riches." It is more val- 
uable than any other earthly consideration, except to 
merit a good name. It makes secure respectability and 
credit during life. It insures the admiration of posterity 
after death. A man's wife and children, proud of his 
standing and achievements while he lives, can rejoice 
after his death in the record he made and the fame he 
left to shed luster on his name and theirs. 

When, in company with the committees of the Senate 
and House, I attended the funeral of our deceased friend, 
Hon. S. A. Roddenbery, I realized more vividly than ever 
how the love and gratitude of a people could appreciate 
reputation and honor, and glorify a righteous man who 
had lived a noble life. The beautiful town in which he 
made his happy home and for which he had done so 
much mourned his untimely death, and all united to 
honor his memory by following his body to the grave. 
From all the countryside and the neighboring towns and 
counties came throngs of people to drop a tear and cast 
a flower. The venerable man of God who had led him to 
Christ in youth, baptized him, and been his spiritual 
guide, friend, and admirer through all of his subsequent 
eventful career spoke eloquently, sweetly, and truthfully 
of the life and character of the deceased, and all who 
heard realized that his words were true. 

The grief of the mourners that he had died so soon was 
mitigated by a feeling of consolation and satisfaction that 
he had so long lived to bless and help them. I would 



[28] 



Address of Mr. Adamson, of Georgia 

rather have said of me when dead the words spoken at 
the funeral of Brother Roddenbery hy that good man 
than to have won the renown and died the death of 
Alexander the Great. Mark Antony's eloquent address 
when " great Caesar fell " seems but " sounding brass and 
tinkling cymbals" when compared to the description 
of the dead Christian, patriot, and statesman rendered by 
that holy man of God. 

Brother Roddenbery began his splendid education which 
prepared him for such a useful life with the admoni- 
tion of Sacred Writ, " The fear of the Lord is the begin- 
ning of wisdom." He believed the injunction with a 
promise, " Seek first the kingdom of God and His right- 
eousness, and all these things shall be added." He be- 
lieved the Psalmist had "never seen the righteous for- 
saken nor his seed begging bread," but that if a man fears 
God and does his duty " whatsoever he doeth shall pros- 
per." People loved and trusted him because they real- 
ized that he loved and trusted them. He studied law, 
and, being a good man with brains as well as honesty, 
he became a great lawyer. On the same principle he 
became a wise and useful legislator. His energy was inde- 
fatigable; his mind and heart expanded to a magnitude 
out of all proportion to his physical strength. In this 
House he performed prodigies sometimes almost single- 
handed and alone. Even those who differed from him 
and condemned his positions admitted his integrity and 
steadfast purpose, and gloried in his ability. Even those 
who resisted his contentions loved him in life for his 
honesty, gentleness, and candor, and now honor his mem- 
ory in death as a great, sincere, and good man. 

His domestic life was exemplary, beautiful, and happy. 
Fortunate in winning a lovely and accomplished Christian 
wife, he immediately decided like the valiant man of 
old, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." 

[29] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Roddenbery 



Accordingly, as the union was blessed with intelligent 
and happy children, they were brought up in the " nur- 
ture and admonition of the Lord." He also recognized 
the wisdom of providing for his own, " especially those 
of his own household," and furnished them in abun- 
dance the conveniences and comforts of life. 

The children old enough are already far advanced in 
their education. The younger ones are being carefully 
nurtured and trained in the same manner with ample 
though moderate means, under the guidance of their 
splendid and pious mother. Happy would our country 
be if we had more men of the character and energy of 
S. A. Roddenbery; fortunate and glorious would be the 
state of society if all bereaved wives and children could 
cherish the memory of having lived and loved with such 
a husband and father and rejoice in the name and fame 
that follow such a man. 



[30] 



Address of Mr. Fess, of Ohio 

Mr. Speaker: There is no utterance that moves my 
heart with a deeper emotion than expressions in honor 
of the qualities of a good man, when they can be truly 
expressed in reference either to public or to private life. 

It was not my pleasure to know Mr. Roddenbery inti- 
mately, as many of those here present did. My acquaint- 
ance with him began when, sitting upon this side of the 
Chamber in the closing days of the Sixty-second Congress, 
I had come here in order to be among the Members of the 
House and to familiarize myself as best I could with its 
workings, and to ascertain how the actual proceedings of 
the House differ from the theory with which I had some 
familiarity. I watched the proceedings of gentlemen on 
both sides of the Chamber. While I had intended to re- 
main only a little while, I became so interested in the 
activities of the House in those exciting days, and espe- 
cially was I so impressed with the ardent interest of many 
Members in certain measures, and by none more than the 
Member whose departure we mourn to-day, that I re- 
mained throughout the closing days up to the end of the 
session. During those days many Members attracted my 
attention. As a stranger to you all, I was in position to 
study the body. Mr. Roddenbery impressed me as one of 
the interesting figures in this House. 

I studied him at close range, not as a personal friend, 
but only as a stranger would watch the activities of a man 
possessed of qualities of leadership. My acquaintance 
with him did not extend beyond the opportunity to speak 
to him a few times. Later, my admiration increased 



[31] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Roddenbery 

because of the way he performed his part and carried 
out his conception of his duty on this floor, an admiration 
which I expressed to him in terms of congratulation after 
one of his battles. I naturally became interested in him, 
as to who he was, what he had done, and as a matter of 
course looked over the record of his career, which is 
certainly a source of admiration, enthusiasm, and inspira- 
tion to every American. It offers proof of the statement 
of the sage of Concord that our country is but another 
name for opportunity. 

Note the steps of the success of an American. Born on 
a farm, educated in a rural school, worked alternately on 
the farm and in the store to enable him to get ready for 
college to perfect his intellectual training. Entered col- 
lege, where he must have won recognition, because he 
accepted a position in the chair of languages and mathe- 
matics, which was a sufficient evidence of his intellectual 
acumen. His high standing among his home people is 
attested by his entering upon public life. He became a 
member of the legislature. So his educational career as 
a teacher went beyond the college walls and extended 
into the larger field of legislation, where he could impress 
his convictions not on college youth alone, but upon the 
citizenship of his State by legislative enactment. Soon 
he voluntarily left the legislature to take up some other 
work and to prepare himself the better to do the work that 
was awaiting him. He became a student of the law. 

As I understand from those who knew him intimately, 
he continued to teach while carrying on his studies in 
law. In this he was following in the tracks of many of the 
most famous men in political and professional life, such 
as Horace Mann, while tutoring in Brown University, his 
Alma Mater. This item in the life of our departed Mem- 
ber shows his diligence that so marked his later career, 
and especially his life here in Washington. 

[32] 



Address of Mr. Fess, of Ohio 



In due time he was called to the judgeship of liis county 
court, over which, from what I can find, he presided with 
dignity and honor, and then leaving that post of his own 
will to further his work as a practitioner, he ultimately 
came into a still larger field, that of the executive of his 
own town, which new duties were simply an addition to his 
duties as a lawyer, and which admirably fitted him lor the 
new post. For four years he served in the humble posi- 
tion as chairman of the board of education. That is one 
of the incidents that appeals to me most, for there is no 
particular honor that causes a man to say very enthusi- 
astic things about one who will be willing to go into this 
lesser kind of work to help and direct the education of the 
county. When in 1836 Horace Mann was asked by the 
governor of Massachusetts to become secretary of the first 
State board of education in the country, he first declined 
on the basis of lack of fitness. Later he left the law to 
take up this work. 

Those are the evidences of the altruism of the men and 
women of the Nation who are willing to let the next gener- 
ation be their clients. This altruism marks the Member 
whose memory we are to-day honoring. 

After filling all these places of trust with that dignity 
that befits a self-made American citizen he came to this, 
the greatest school in the world, the House of Represent- 
atives. 

Mr. Speaker, these are the steps taken by our lamented 
brother which make up the ladder of signal success, so 
uniformly desirable in America. They stretch from the 
beginnings which are small to an achievement which is 
great, and ought to be an inspiration to every American. 
I study his life and the lives of other successful men as 
I would were I preparing to speak to a group of college 
boys where I wanted to draw a lesson from their inspira- 
tion for achievement in our country. Such men afford a 



57974°— 14 3 [33] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Roddenbery 



fine example of what can be accomplished by the dint of 

effort. 

My attention was also called to Mr. Roddenbery because 
of his frequent brilliant parliamentary fights conducted 
here on the floor. My impression was, there is a man who 
speaks not with the intention of offending anyone and yet 
without fear of offending. It is the utterance of an inde- 
pendent thinker, a man with the courage of his convic- 
tions, and one who stands for what he believes to be right, 
although it is in opposition, probably, to a great many 
that he would very much desire not to oppose. 

I saw him once as I sat on this side of the House rise in 
his place on that side of the Chamber to speak 40 minutes 
under a special privilege. I noticed the fearlessness with 
which he spoke in opposition to a certain ruling, or posi- 
tion of his party, which somewhat involved his loyalty to 
his party if he persisted in his course of action. 

The situation was the more delicate to him because it 
placed him in opposition to his own party, in which it 
seemed necessary for him to take issue with the leader 
of his party; and yet, in this most delicate situation, 
speaking without fear or favor, when he finished he sat 
down with not only the respect of the leader and every 
member of his party, but with the respect of all the Mem- 
bers on this side of the Chamber as well. In other words, 
he impressed me as a man speaking absolutely without 
fear on matters he believed to be right, no matter about 
the consequences. We all know not only this House ad- 
mires such conduct and such ability on the floor, but all 
men everywhere greatly appreciate such public conduct. 

I admired Mr. Roddenbery for his brilliancy in par- 
liamentary law, with which he showed himself quite 
familiar. As one greatly interested in parliamentary law, 
as a body of theory as well as actual practice in legis- 
lative bodies, having been a teacher of it in college, this 



[34] 



Address of Mr. Fess, of Ohio 



part of his work I admired. Aside from my own lender, 
Mr. Mann, the most wonderful mind in his grasp of the 
details of the House I ever knew or read of, I watched Mr. 
Roddenbery with the greatest pleasure when he rose to 
speak; he always demonstrated that he knew what lie was 
talking about and insisted upon the maintenance of cer- 
tain ruling when he spoke with a full knowledge of tin 
subject. Here on this floor is where men will finally 
reach their level, and is the one place where men must 
speak not simply to be heard. Mr. Roddenbery seemed to 
know his ground before he took a position. Such men 
must win the respect of their fellows. 

Upon another occasion, in the early part of the special 
session, when a bill had come from the Senate with an 
amendment, an effort was made to have the House con- 
cur. Judge Roddenbery was opposed to the amendment, 
and when a motion was pending to appoint a conference 
committee he led in an effort to have the conference 
instructed to report certain things. This precipitated a 
parliamentary struggle, which aroused a debate in which 
much feeling was displayed among interested Members. 
Throughout the excitement, which at times was high, 
Judge Roddenbery never once lost his equilibrium, which 
enabled him to demonstrate that he did not only possess 
the knowledge as a basis of confidence for his position, but 
he also possessed that greater characteristic so rare in 
men, of complete mastery over himself. ' He that mas- 
ters his own spirit is greater than he who takes a city," 
was an old saying. This calm composure in the thickest 
of the fight is a great asset, and Judge Roddenbery uni- 
formly possessed it. 

It seems to me that Judge Roddenbery, from the stand- 
point of a boy on the farm, student in the college, teacher 
in the college, judge of the court, practitioner before the 
people, mayor of his town, leader in State as well as in 



[35] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Roddenbery 



Nation, offers a splendid object lesson of inspiration to 
every Member in this House as well as to all the country 
that ought to be taken back to the youth of our country. 

In connection with that I am thinking now of what the 
State of Georgia has done in the way of public education; 
not by schools and colleges and technical institutions 
alone, but by popular education upon the rostrum. I 
was told by a lyceum bureau that one-fourth of the talent 
that that bureau was handling which are known to the 
lyceum world as stars who were on the lyceum platform 
doing public work as public educators, molding public 
opinion, came from within a circle of not over 100 miles 
radius with the center at Atlanta. This was when Gen. 
Gordon, Grady, Graves, Lamar, Sam Jones, Sam Small, 
and others were in their prime. 

I have not had the pleasure of hearing Mr. Roddenbery 
on the lecture platform. I can not therefore speak of that 
field of public interest in influencing public opinion. 
Men can not always be equal; they may be strong at 
one place; they may not be able to reach such standard 
at another place, but I have studied Judge Roddenbery 
pretty carefully in this House, and I think his fame will 
be able to hold up the standard, and he will not suffer be- 
cause of the career and high rank heretofore set by the 
great State of Georgia. 

I close by simply saying that when we see a life that 
we so much appreciate because of its promise closed out 
so early, we ask ourselves the question, Why is it that this 
splendid, effective, energetic, conscientious personality, 
so surcharged with conviction of duty, was so soon cut 
off? The answer comes that man's life is not to be counted 
in years; it is not the days that we live, but rather 
the work that we do that makes the test of a man's life. 
It is not an extensive life that counts but an intensive liv- 
ing, and I am quite certain that although cut off in a very 

[36] 



Address of Mr. Fess, of Ohio 



short life Mr. Roddenbery will bring a recognition in his 
own community as well as in the Nation at large by a 
life well spent when measured by what was accomplished. 
It was not my pleasure to know him in his home, but 
what I have heard from this floor from the lips of those 
who knew him well is sufficient. His life, though soon cut 
off, was such that it must be a priceless heritage to his 
family. Of course no words of ours at these moments of 
bereavement can assuage the grief that so overwhelms 
his loved ones. But surely it is a consolation to them to 
know how he was cherished by both political friend and 
foe, the very best test of one's manhood. It is a touching 
tribute well merited that we here in this Chamber, the 
seat of his greatest service, gather on this holy day to 
attest our appreciation of the dignity, devotion, and high 
character of a fellow Member who has fallen by the 
wayside, and has left us to carry on the work to which he 
was so devoted. 



[37] 



Address of Mr. Sloan, of Nebraska 

Mr. Speaker: Permit a personal friend and admirer to 
pay a simple tribute to the memory of Seaborn A. Rod- 
denbery. How frequently this Hall is being devoted to 
Sabbath service, which means memorials for its departed 
Members. Especially has this become true since our 
membership has been increased and the strain of activity 
has been set to the limit in extraordinary as well as 
regular sessions. 

One who sits in this Hall listening to daily debates dur- 
ing the week and memorials on the Sabbath might desig- 
nate it as a forum for criticism of the living and eulogy of 
the dead. It would not be an accurate judgment. But 
if it were, it yet were well. In our daily contests we ought 
and often do the manly act. But when dissolving time 
fades into eternal existence, then the best which is in us 
invariably forges to the front and sees only the best in 
our departed brother's career. We forget his weakness 
and foibles and see him as we would that God might see 
us in the light of our merit and virtues rather than 
obscured by our shortcomings and vices. 

From the various States and sections of this vast Nation 
men come to this Hall. Each brings some of the narrow- 
ness and prejudice of life's environment, unprepared to 
see or take the viewpoint of our fellow Members. Hence 
it is said to be uniformly the case that the least patience 
is exercised with the views of our colleagues in our early 
years of service; and that tolerance always comes for 
them, increasing as the years and the terms come and go. 



[38] 



Address of Mr. Sloan, of Nebraska 



We see the lack of universal application of our own 
beliefs. We consider at least toleration of our colleagues' 
principles until differences in detail are largely removed 
and only for large essentials do most here do battle, in 
this the best, and I hope always to be, the greatest forum 
of the world. 

We learn to measure our colleagues not by the par- 
ticular doctrine which they espouse and proclaim, but 
by the honesty, sincerity, and zeal, or their lack, by which 
they advocate them. A man in this House represents that 
which he deems best and most important arising out of 
his life, education, environment, philosophy, political 
affiliation, hopes, and personal ambition. All of these 
are influenced, often controlled, by what appears to us 
to be the best interests of the greatest number of the 
people whose commission we hold for their representa- 
tion at this great Capitol. Here, questions ranging from 
the personal right of a constituent to have a public docu- 
ment up through the larger questions affecting the indus- 
tries of our districts to and through those involving 
national and even world-wide importance are considered. 

To this Hall our deceased brother brought much — a 
finished education, a large measure of culture, a keen, 
incisive mind, an unusual command of forensic English, 
and keen appreciation of the joys and exhilarations of 
the debate duello. He took blow and thrust with equa- 
nimity and at par; but he responded with usury. His 
zeal among his virtues and qualities shone fervent and 
resplendent. He had the resolution of an Alpine de- 
fender and the spirit of a crusader. It was this which 
perhaps challenged and received most criticism from his 
fellows, but if this be offense or fault constituents are 
ready to condone. Yea, more; they will commend. Con- 
gressman Roddenbery spoke to his colleagues but for his 



[39] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Roddenbery 



constituents, as he saw the latter's wishes and interests 
demand. In this he was truly representative. 

A learned divine once said, " The master of a learned 
profession at last becomes its slave." That quality most 
frequently and strenuously exercised often becomes our 
undoing. It was the zeal of the departed which hastened 
him to the tomb. To bear up and protect a marked men- 
tality, nature gave him but a frail tenement, which, taxed 
beyond its capacity, called him early to his final home. 
This was before the ripeness of years crowned his efforts 
with that measure of distinction which would undoubt- 
edly have been his had he lived, and which achieved 
would have been a proud fact for his family, his district, 
his State, and Nation. 

A deep religious sentiment pervaded our deceased 
brother's thought, was revealed in his speech, and actu- 
ated his career. This, combined with domestic devotion 
for wife, child, parent, and home, added much, as it does 
to any public man in the estimate of his fellows. 

Among the young Members of the House we watched 
his activities, appreciated his ability, noted his genuine 
measure of advancement, and agreed in the estimate 
which saw in prospect rich civic prizes and honors in his 
promising career. A career closed in the rich early 
period of its florescence, its full fruitage is left to the good 
time and season of Him who doeth all things well. 



[40] 



Address of Mh. Edwards, of Georgia 

Mr. Speaker: With sad hearts we pay our tributes to 
the memory of our comrade who has been called from 
labor to eternal rest. While he had been for many years 
a prominent figure in the affairs of our State, yet it was 
not my good fortune to personally know Seaborn Ander- 
son Roddenbery until he entered the Sixty-first Congress 
to fill out the unexpired term of the late Congressman 
James M. Griggs. 

By reputation I had known Mr. Roddenbery for several 
years, and had a high opinion of him. You could not set 
a proper standard of appreciation upon him until you 
knew him well. In the Sixty-first, the Sixty-second, and 
up to his untimely death in the extra session of the pres- 
ent Congress I was thrown with Mr. Roddenbery a great 
deal. He was one of my good friends. I admired his 
noble character, his ability, and his unselfish devotion 
to duty. His was an upright and useful life. Georgia, 
his native State, and the whole country sustained a great 
loss when this faithful servant passed away. 

Born and reared on a Georgia farm, coming out of the 
great heart of the common people, he knew and loved 
those people. They knew and loved him in return. At 
the age of 21 years he was elected to the Georgia Legisla- 
ture, where he served with ability and distinction. He 
declined reelection to that body. He studied law while 
teaching school, and was admitted to the bar in 1894. He 
made a success at the bar. In 1897 he was appointed 
judge of the county court of Thomas County, in which 
position he served his people with fidelity and honor. He 

[41] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Roddenbery 

declined reappointment as judge of the county court in 
order to devote his time and talents to the general prac- 
tice of his profession. His people had need of him, how- 
ever, and elected him mayor of Thomasville, in which 
position he gave such excellent service and satisfaction 
that he was reelected without opposition. He was also 
president of the board of education of Thomas County 
for four years. In all these places of public trust he 
showed that devotion to duty which marked him among 
men. His people, to whom he was ever true, were not 
content to let his honors cease. They had further need 
for his splendid abilities and energies. They elected him 
to the United States Congress, where he soon identified 
and distinguished himself as one of the great men of this 
great body. 

It is indeed most fitting that those who knew his worth 
through daily and intimate association should gather in 
this Chamber, where the most important and effective 
part of his work was done, for the purpose of expressing 
sincere and affectionate appreciation of a life dedicated 
in high degree to the public service. The tributes paid 
to him are well deserved, because they were earned by 
years of devotion to the interests of our country, because 
his record as a Representative in Congress was charac- 
terized at all times by zeal for the public good. To the 
people who trusted and honored him he gladly gave all 
that was highest and best in him. 

Few outside of his close associates knew how hard he 
worked or how much he had accomplished. Despite the 
fact that he had been in Congress but a few years, he was 
recognized as a ready and active debater. He was ever 
alert to protect the principles and policies that he avowed. 
Independent in spirit and free from affectation, he sought 
in all that he did to perform the highest duty to his 
country. 

[42] 



Address of Mr. Edwards, of Georgia 

No man ever worked harder for the time he was in 
Congress than did Judge Roddenbery. He was literally ;i 
slave to duty. He neglected his own affairs and even his 
own health that he might give to his country an unselfish 
and devoted service. 

Much that is great and nohle can be said of his public 
services, but high above all this, which is more beautiful 
and more enduring, it can be said that Judge Roddenbery 
was truly a good man and a Christian. Well may the 
youth of Georgia and of the world emulate the example 
which was set for them by this great and good man. 

He was a tender and devoted husband, a loving father. 
a loyal friend, a patriot, a scholar, a great judge, a states- 
man, and a Christian gentleman, whose mission on earth 
was a service of devotion that " to-morrow might be bet- 
ter than to-day," and whose reward, I am sure, has been 
found in the words, " Well done, thou good and faithful 
servant." 

I can not close this feeble and brief tribute without 
referring to the personal loss which has come to us who 
represent Georgia in this House of Representatives. A 
loyal colleague, upon whose judgment we had come to 
rely, is gone. He was more than a colleague. He was a 
warm-hearted friend, always courteous, kind, and con- 
siderate. We shall miss him, and memories of him will 
ever be a cherished possession for all who knew him. 
His voice is hushed, his form has disappeared, but surely 
such a soul can never die. The memory of such a life, the 
influence of such a noble character, will live on forever. 



[43] 



Address of Mr. Prouty, of Iowa 

Mr. Speaker : Since receiving the kind invitation to par- 
ticipate in these exercises my duties upon this floor have 
prevented me from making any special preparation. Yet 
I would not feel quite right to myself, nor would I feel 
quite right toward the Members of this House, if I did not 
say just a few words expressive of my appreciation of 
my deceased friend, Mr. Roddenbery. It so happened 
that when I first visited Washington to look after what 
I might be expected to do in the Congress to which I was 
elected I met Mr. Roddenbery at the Union Station. We 
stopped at the same hotel, and when I came here to enter 
upon the duties of the special session we also stopped at 
the same hotel. I realized very quickly that he had come 
from the far Southland, with all of the traditions, environ- 
ments, and possibly prejudices of that region. I had come 
from the far Northland, with all of the environments, 
traditions, and possibly prejudices of that section of the 
country. 

It was a matter of some surprise to myself, and more 
surprise to many of our friends, that Mr. Roddenbery and 
I should become so closely attached as friends. We spent 
many hours in walking and talking during the evenings 
of the long, hot summer of the special session. But it 
was not long after I met him before I found that there was 
a real bond of sympathy between us. He had come to 
Congress imbued with an idea that he wanted to be of 
real, genuine service to the humble people of his district. 
I think I have never in all my life met a man so thor- 
oughly wrapped up in the thought that he wanted to be 

[44] 



Address of Mr. Prouty, of Iowa 



of service to those who were not really in a position to 
serve themselves, and I think those of you who will take 
the pains to recall his every word and every act upon the 
floor of this House will agree that this was his control- 
ling, forceful thought. He had been reared among the 
common people. He had seen their sorrows, and he had 
felt their oppression; he had known of their struggles. 
He had realized what a dollar meant to such people, and 
when he saw, as everyone has seen, extravagant appro- 
priations made for at least doubtful purposes, and when 
he realized that that money, in part at least, had to be 
wrung from the toiling hands of the poor, with whom he 
had lived and associated, it aroused in him the keenest 
disapproval. 

And many times this House has been shocked and 
sometimes. displeased when it would hear coming from 
that corner of the House, " Mr. Speaker, I object." Those 
words were actuated not, as some thought, by a vindic- 
tive spirit. That was never true. What he did was done 
by reason of the fact that Mr. Roddenbery felt that the 
money gathered from the common people largely should 
not be squandered and put to purposes that are not 

needed. 

One of the things that always struck me with peculiar 
force in the character of Mr. Roddenbery was the fact 
that he was honest. By honest I do not mean what is 
commonly applied to that term. I do not mean that he 
simply paid his debts, that he was not guilty of fraud, 
but he had an honest mind, a mind that was directed 
along lines of absolute integrity. He did not try to form 
his opinions to suit somebody's preconception of some- 
thing that would please the membership of the House or 
those with whom he was associated. He took his facts 
and his logic, and, applying to them his own mind, he 
went where his judgment told him; and that was just as 

[45] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Roddenbery 

true in private conversation as it was upon the floor of 
this House. In the many, many conversations I have had 
with him I have always found that he was honest intel- 
lectually, and I can say frankly that that was the one 
thing that inspired my greatest admiration. If there is 
anything in the world that I can truly admire, it is a man 
who is honest intellectually. It is very easy to be honest 
in many things, but it really takes a strong character to 
be honest intellectually. 

I do not need to tell you of his industry. I believe I 
have never known a more industrious man. Our rooms 
were close together, and I have known of his working 
until 1, 2, and 3 o'clock in the morning. 

Another thing that commended Mr. Roddenbery to me 
very much was his bravery. I do not mean that bravery 
that would make him a great soldier, for I do not know 
but that he might have run from the battle field; but he 
was brave with his convictions, and from what little I 
have seen in life it requires a great deal more courage to 
be brave in time of peace than it does in time of war. 
I recall just one little circumstance that probably all of 
you will remember that challenged my admiration. A 
bill had been called up by unanimous consent. Several 
gentlemen, some from this side of the House and some 
from that side of the House, had made speeches under the 
privilege of reserving the right to object, and all of them 
had said that such a bill ought not to be considered in 
that way. People would gather around the Member, and 
the first thing we knew the Member would say that he 
withdrew his objection. So it went on this side of the 
House and on that side of the House, until perhaps a dozen 
had gone through that same performance, and all of them 
had withdrawn their objections. It looked as though the 
bill were going to pass by unanimous consent, although 
I know that it was the conviction of a large majority of 

[46] 



Address of Mr. Prouty, of Iowa 



the House that such a hill ought not to pass, when over 
in that corner of the House, a little gentleman rose and 
said, "Mr. Speaker, I object." I leaned over to a friend 
sitting beside me and said, "That objection will not be 
withdrawn." One-half of that whole side of the House 
flocked to Mr. Roddenbery, and some even from this side 
of the House, and brought all of the pressure they could 
upon him, but he sat there and smiled and said, " No, 
gentlemen; I have objected and I mean it." 

It is that kind of courage on the floor of this House that 
challenges at least my admiration. He believed the bill 
ought not to pass and it ought not to pass in that way, and, 
notwithstanding the pressure of political friends, he had 
the courage to say, "Mr. Speaker, I object." 

I was also very much interested in the skill with which 
he handled his parliamentary propositions. Among what 
may be termed the younger set he was clearly the best 
parliamentarian on the floor of this House. He had the 
keenest, clearest perception of the rules and had mastered 
them, and he always knew just when and where and how 
to take advantage of his knowledge of those rules. It was 
an inspiring sight to see one of our young Members suc- 
cessfully competing upon the floor of this House with the 
able parliamentarians on both sides; and in my recollec- 
tion I never saw him worsted. 

All of these things lead simply to one thought; that is, 
that he was every* inch a man. He was honest, he was 
brave, he had a heart of profound sympathy for the strug- 
gling masses of humanity, and he had that industry that 
prepared and equipped him for fighting the battles of the 
common people, and he fought them. 



[47] 



Address of Mr. Lee, of Georgia 

Mr. Speaker: The Nation can ill afford to lose from its 
service men like Seaborn Anderson Roddenbery, in mem- 
ory of whom these exercises are held to-day. In what- 
ever station of life he was placed, whether educator or 
jurist, mayor, or Member of this body, the word " Duty " 
was his guiding star. With singleness of purpose, with 
unswerving determination to do right as God gave him to 
see the right, he applied himself to every task. None 
was too small for his painstaking labor; none too great 
but was encompassed by the clear light of his fine 
intellect. 

From his earliest youth he had given himself to study 
whenever time permitted and opportunity offered. He 
was voracious in his appetite for knowledge. He delved 
deep for facts, taking nothing for granted. He mastered 
every detail of every subject that engaged his attention, 
and every essential was marshaled in his mind with un- 
failing accuracy, ready for use at any moment. 

Our friend and colleague was of sturdy stock. He was 
a son of the soil. From the moment of his birth he 
breathed the pure air of the country. City life knew him 
not until he came to Washington. A farmer's son, he 
grew up a farmer, and to the last minute of his life he 
held an abiding interest in everything that pertained to 
agriculture. He was not satisfied with merely knowing 
the A B C of the farmer's work. Not only did he study 
farming and the farmer's needs from a scientific stand- 
point, but he went even further and traced agriculture 
from the crudest beginning among prehistoric peoples 
through the centuries even unto our day. He did not ex- 
ploit his research in the pages of magazines to gain tem- 



[48] 



Address of Mr. Lee, of Georgia 



porary fame, but in his modest way was content to bring 
the results of his investigations to the knowledge of 
farmers' institutes in his native State. 

Almost more than any man I ever knew Mr. Roddenbery 
had the habit of study. It seemed to have been born in 
him. While working on the farm and in a country store 
his evenings were devoted to storing his mind with useful 
knowledge. Books were his diversion. He was an om- 
nivorous reader. His education was gained in the county 
schools and at Mercer University. Even before becoming 
of age he filled the chair of languages and mathematics at 
South Georgia College, and while a teacher he applied 
himself to the study of the law. When barely past legal 
age he was elected to the State legislature, served for two 
sessions, and then declined reelection. Within three 
years after being admitted to the bar he was appointed 
a county judge. After having served with honor for 
four years he declined reappointment, but subsequently 
filled the office of mayor of Thomasville for two terms 
and served as president of the county board of education 
for four years. Then came his election as a Representa- 
tive, and here in our midst he labored in the Sixty-first, the 
Sixty-second, and the first session of the present Congress. 

He was in the very flush of manhod, at an age when, 
it is said, men begin to do their best work. He was excep- 
tionally well equipped for the work of legislation. I want 
to emphasize the word " work " in this case, for Anderson 
Roddenbery was not satisfied with merely casting his vote 
for or against any measure as party policy or party behest 
might dictate or expediency might suggest. He went to 
the heart of every proposition presented for his consider- 
ation and action. For him there were no " unconsidered 
trifles." The thing had to be clear in his mind and under- 
standing before gaining his assent or being rejected. 



57974°— 14 4 [49] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Roddenbery 

In his endeavor to reach a correct conclusion he 
shunned no labor, however much of a strain it might 
prove to be upon his mental and physical energies. And 
after he had convinced himself that a certain line of 
action would be right or wrong, as the case might be, he 
squared action with conviction, and no amount of per- 
suasion or abuse could swerve him once he had taken his 
stand. Some people might call this sheer obstinacy under 
some circumstances, but so long as his conscience ap- 
proved he cared for no man's censure and courted no 
man's approbation. 

Honesty, faithfulness, and diligence were marked char- 
acteristics in his make-up. If there was at times severity 
in his acts, he never lacked in courtesy to whomsoever 
might be brought in contact with him. He was scrupu- 
lous in measuring out justice in his relations with his 
fellow men in all stations of life. 

As a Member of this House Mr. Roddenbery was un- 
wearying in caring for the interests of his district and 
State. Every request that came to him from his constit- 
uents was promptly and minutely attended to. On the 
committees to which he had been assigned he was an un- 
tiring worker, and his reports were models of conciseness 
and completeness. His legislative activity did not stop 
short at matters of mere local import or subjects imme- 
diately intrusted to him for investigation and report. He 
participated actively in all debates on important measures 
of general interest, and his keen, analytical acumen dis- 
covered with unfailing directness the weak points in an 
opponent's argument or the blemishes in proposed legis- 
lation. Those things that did not commend themselves to 
his sense of justice or fairness he opposed with uncom- 
promising persistency and severity, and he availed him- 
self of ever}' proper device to make his opposition 
effective. 



150] 



Address of Mr. Lee, of Georgia 



We all remember his inflexible resistance to the passage 
of omnibus pension bills. We remember how he fought 
them from the moment they came into the House until the 
final vote upon them had been taken. We remember how- 
he exhausted every parliamentary means to encompass 
their defeat. We remember also how in every instance 
he failed in his efforts. But however much many of his 
colleagues may have differed with him as to the advis- 
ability of that sort of legislation; no matter whether they 
regarded the position taken by him as ill-advised or not, 
none could withhold their meed of admiration for the 
courage with which he maintained his views, even with 
the certainty of defeat staring him in the face. And such 
admiration was properly bestowed. It is easy to espouse 
a popular cause, but it partakes of heroism for a man to 
antagonize such a one. Therefore howsoever Mr. Rod- 
denbery's work as a Representative in Congress may be 
judged, either by his contemporaries or by posterity, it 
must always be said of him that he had the courage of his 
convictions and acted as he thought. 

There comes to my mind other instances of our friend's 
persistency in the face of defeat. In every case he did 
what he thought was right, and measured up to the highest 
standard. 

The greatest man is he who chooses right with the most 
invincible resolution; who resists the sorest temptation from 
within and without; who bears the heaviest burdens cheerfully; 
who is calmest in storms and most fearless under menaces and 
frowns; whose reliance on truth, on virtue, and on God is most 
unfaltering. 

If Mr. Roddenbery had been permitted to continue his 
service here, he would, I doubt not, have added to his 
prestige as a legislator. But, alas, disease fell upon him, 
the ravages of which his body was unable to withstand, 
and he paid the tribute to nature which sooner or later we 
all must render. 

[51] 



Address of Mr. Bell, of Georgia 

Mr. Speaker: It is with sad hearts that we to-day are 
called upon to speak of the parting with us of our dear 
friend and colleague, Judge Seaborn A. Roddenbery. I 
knew Judge Roddenbery intimately while he was a Mem- 
ber of this body and I had the opportunity of studying 
his characteristics. He was a man of unquestionable char- 
acter, honest, sincere, and courageous. While his career 
as a Member of Congress was short, it was nevertheless 
fruitful and marked with ability. He was elected to fill a 
vacancy caused by the death of our lamented friend, 
Judge Griggs, and was a faithful Representative of his 
people until September 25, 1913, when the mantle of 
death came over him and took from our midst one of 
the truest, bravest, and best men Georgia or the South 
has produced in many years. He was devoted to his 
duties as a public servant, constant in his attentions to 
his constituents, and loyal to the rights of the people who 
elected him to the high position which he filled with 
honor and distinction. He filled many positions of trust 
before entering upon the duties and responsibilities as a 
Member of Congress, and was therefore well equipped 
for the great problems which confront the people of this 
great Nation. He was zealous and a strong advocate in 
all matters in which he felt interested, and nothing could 
persuade him or turn him from that which he believed 
right and just. He was a lawyer of extraordinary ability, 
safe as a counselor and fair as a judge. He recognized 
the rights of every individual, and never lost sight of his 
duty to himself or his kindred affection to humanity. His 
sole purpose in life was to do right and do justice to those 

[52] 



Address of Mr. Bell, of Georgia 



with whom he came in contact, and he had a high regard 

for the opinions and purposes of his coworkers. He was 
indeed a remarkable man; although young and with ;i 
limited experience as a national lawmaker, he was fast 
developing into a national figure and was forging his 
way to the front as a leader in the affairs of the Nation; 
and his opinions and rulings as a presiding officer, with 
his quick perception of parliamentary law and its usages, 
was impressed upon those who watched his career in 
his latter days, when frequently he was called upon to 
preside over the deliberations of Congress. 

It is indeed unfortunate that such a promising and 
bright life should have been checked by the sad reaper, 
death. As a man he was loved by all who knew him. As a 
friend he was steadfast and true. He was honest, sincere, 
and would not engage in deceptive methods and trickery 
which sometimes characterize modern politicians. He 
was a gentleman by birth and training, and I never knew 
him to be guilty of the least act unbecoming a true man or 
a respectable citizen. He was held in high esteem by all 
the people of his district, old and young, rich and poor. 
He was a leader in the great fight for temperance in 
Georgia, and probably no individual is entitled to more 
credit for this reform in the Empire State than Mr. Rod- 
denbery. If he had a hobby it was always on the side of 
right, and he never failed to let his friends and admirers 
know his position on any question which affected them. 

He was a devoted husband, loved his family, and always 
enjoyed the society of his children, and would never let 
any opportunity escape when he could do anything to add 
to their pleasure and happiness. Indeed, my friends, we 
have lost a good man. We can sympathize with those 
dear to him who are left to mourn his departure; we 
can not fathom the mysteries of life, but we can believe 
and feel and hope that our loss is his eternal gain. 

[53] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Roddenbery 



For them no more the blazing hearth shall burn, 
Or busy housewife ply her evening care; 

No children run to lisp their sire's return, 
Or climb his knees the envied kiss to share. 

On some fond breast the parting soul relies, 
Some pious drops the closing eyes requires; 

E'en from the tomb the voice of nature cries, 
E'en in our ashes live their wonted fires. 

No further seek his merits to disclose, 

Or draw his frailties from their dread abode 

(There they alike in trembling hope repose), 
The bosom of his Father and his God. 



[54] 



Address of Mr. Willis, of Ohio 

Mr. Speaker: I feel that I want to say a word upon this 
solemn occasion, because I come from a section of the 
country where many of the opinions and positions that 
were espoused by our friend, Judge Roddenbery, on the 
floor of this House, were looked upon with a good deal of 
disapproval, and I think perhaps with some degree of mis- 
understanding. For that reason I have wanted to speak 
briefly this afternoon. ■ 

From my close association with Judge Roddenbery 1 
know that every position he ever took upon any measure 
pending before this House was taken in absolute sincerity, 
and from the standpoint of his belief in the public good. 

I knew this man well. I know that he harbored in his 
heart no hate for any man. In what little experience I 
have had I never met a more tender, loving, sympathetic 
soul than was possessed by S. A. Roddenbery, of Georgia. 

As I speak for a few moments, there comes to me a flood 
of memories. I can not forget the circumstances under 
which I first became acquainted with him. With two 
other Members of the House I was invited to speak at a 
celebration which the patriotic people of Falls Church, 
Va., had arranged two years ago last Fourth of July. I 
did not know who the other Members were who were in- 
vited, but when we went to the car I found that besides 
myself the Members of the House who had been invited 
to speak were Mr. Roddenbery and Mr. Wedemeyer, of 
Michigan. I shall never forget the happy hours we spent 
together that day, nor shall I forget the eloquent and 
powerful addresses that were delivered by my two 
friends. It is to me a sad recollection that both these 
young men who had so early made such a definite and 

[55] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Roddenbery 

lasting impress upon the House, and who gave such 
promise of great service not only to their districts but 
to the States in which they lived and to their country — 
that these two splendid young men have gone into the 
great beyond. 

There are a great many things of which I might speak 
in thinking of the characteristics of Judge Roddenbery; 
but the first one that comes to my mind is that to which 
the gentleman from Iowa [Mr. Prouty] has just referred — 
his superabundant courage. While I disagreed with him 
sharply and fundamentally upon many questions, and 
particularly upon that one in the discussion of which he 
took the most aggressive part, I felt that he was always 
perfectly sincere and honest and absolutely courageous 
in every position that he took. I remember an incident 
not unlike the one referred to by the gentleman from 
Iowa [Mr. Prouty]. I remember we had been having a 
long fight here upon a bill. The gentleman from Georgia 
[Mr. Roddenbery] was opposing that bill with great ability 
and great eloquence and with a splendid exhibition of 
his knowledge of parliamentary practice. After this com- 
bat had been going on for some time, two or three of us 
from this side, who prized his personal friendship, went 
over to that corner where he always stood when he started 
to make a fight and we engaged him in pleasant personal 
conversation and sought to dissuade him from the course 
which he had been pursuing. I remember that in the 
greatest good humor — because while Judge Roddenbery 
always spoke with vigor and seemingly with great excite- 
ment, yet he always kept good-natured — when we urged 
him to cease his opposition to the bill he spoke in terms of 
the greatest good humor, but waved us aside and kept up 
his fight with his usual ability. I speak of that as an illus- 
tration of his unflinching courage. He did not hesitate 
to do the things which his most intimate friends did not 
want him to do if he felt that his conception of his duty 

[56] 



Address of Mr. Willis, of Ohio 



to the public demanded that he should do so. Taking 
him all in all, I feel that Judge Roddenbert? personally 
was a man typical of what is best in American manhood. 
Just yesterday I was reading a clipping from a poem of 
Kipling that seemed to me so entirely applicable to tliis 
case that I am going to repeat it. By a peculiar coinci- 
dence the slip of paper I hold in my hand containing these 
lines was handed to me by our late friend and colleague, 
Mr. Wedemeyer, just a few days before his untimely 
death. This is what Kipling says : 

If you can keep your head when all about you 

Are losing theirs, and blaming it on you; 
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, 

But make allowance for their doubting too; 
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, 

Or being lied about, don't deal in lies; 
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating; 

And yet don't look too good nor talk too wise; 

If you can dream and not make dreams your master; 

If you can think, and not make thoughts your aim; 
If you can meet with triumph and disaster, 

And treat those two imposters just the same; 
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken 

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, 
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, 

And stoop, and build them up with worn-out tools; 

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, 

If you can walk with kings, nor lose the common touch; 
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you, 

If all men count with you, but none too much; 
If you can fill the unforgiving minute 

With sixty seconds' worth of distance run, 
Yours is the earth and everything that's in it, 

And which is more, you'll be a man, my son. 

It seems to me these lines express the characteristics of 
Judge Roddenbery; upright, sincere, clear, and cour- 
ageous, he possessed that lofty personality which we all 
admire and emulate. 

[57] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Roddenbery 



Another characteristic it seems to me ought to impress 
itself on the manhood of this country, and that is the fact 
that with this man above all things, above devotion to the 
State, above his sense of duty to the Nation even, there 
was that splendid unfaltering devotion to the duties of 
the home upon which, after all, all these other institutions 
rest. He possessed a home life beautiful. He was de- 
voted to it and proud of it. Well may he have said as 
one of our poets said : 

If all the ships I have at sea, 
Should come a-sailing home to me, 
Laden with riches, honor, glory, gold, 
Ah, well, the harbor would not hold 
So many ships as there would be, 
If all my ships came home to me. 

If half the ships I have at sea, 

Should bring their precious freight to me, 

Ah, well, I should have wealth as great 

As any king that lived in state, 

So rich a treasure there would be, 

If half my ships came home to me. 

If but one ship I have at sea 

Should come a-sailing home to me, 

Ah, well, the storm clouds well might frown 

For if the others all went down, 

Still rich and glad and proud I'd be 

If that one ship came home to me. 

If that one ship went down to sea, 

Weighed down with gems and wealth untold, 

With riches, honor, glory, gold, 

The poorest soul on earth I'd be, 

If that one ship came not to me. 

O skies be calm, winds blow free, 
Blow all my ships safe home to me. 
But if thou sendest some a-wrack 
To never more come sailing back, 
Send any, all that sail the sea, 
But send my love ship back to me. 

[58] 



Address of Mr. Willis, of Ohio 



To our friend who has gone away many of these ships 
that sailed the sea came home, but that one ship surely 
came with sails all spread, and floating above it all was the 
white banner of his stainless life. Seaborn A. RoDDEN- 
bery's life is an example that the manhood of this country 
may well emulate. The kind of life he lived, the kind of 
thoughts he entertained, are expressed in a few lines from 
an Ohio poet, Mr. Herbert, a gentleman whom my col- 
league [Mr. Fess] and I know very well. He wrote : 

When I am gone, 
Just say that, in a distant heaven 
I firm believed, with faith unriven; 
Yet, for the heavenly earth I've striven, 

When I am gone. 

When I am gone, 
Just say I want no gaudy wreaths, 
No baubles, no well-ripened sheaves, 
No crepe, no dirge, no flowers, no leaves, 

When I am gone. 

When I am gone, 
Just say I want no stately tread 
Of plumed knights; no words well read, 
In tones, sonorous, of the dead, 

When I am gone. 

When I am gone, 
Just say to me the yielding sod 
Of earth is welcome; then leave God 
To deal with me, with smile or rod, 

When I am gone. 

Our friend Mr. Roddenbery has gone away, but the 
memory of his blameless life will remain as a benedic- 
tion to coming generations. His life was an inspiration, 
and the tender, fragrant memory of our friendly associa- 
tion with him will abide till latest time. 



[59] 



Address of Mr. Hughes, of Georgia 

Mr. Speaker: As I have listened here to-day to the lov- 
ing tributes of his devoted friends, and their eloquence 
has thrown upon memory's screen the noble deeds of his 
noble life, my thoughts go back through the brief inter- 
val to the last weeks Anderson Roddenbery was with us, 
and I see plainly his tense, dramatic figure standing there 
fighting with the earnestness known only to those who 
battle honestly and fearlessly, and with the power with 
which truth arms its advocates fighting for the cause 
of the people. 

And I see, Mr. Speaker, the lines in his face grow deeper 
with the passing of each day; I hear his voice grow 
weaker; but harder and harder he fights. Filled with 
the purpose of defending to the uttermost the principles 
in which he believed with all the earnestness of his soul, 
he was unmindful of the ravages of disease, the warn- 
ings that the fight must soon be over. Relentlessly he 
fought on and on until the dread hand of disease struck 
him down. 

And this picture which comes before my mind's eye, 
Mr. Speaker, of that frail, almost boyish little figure, 
weakened by illness and under the very shadow of the 
death angel's wing, fighting with the fearlessness and 
strength of a giant is an inspiration. It was one of those 
magnificent lives in which mortal flesh was subordinated 
to the immortal and imperishable principle. The unsel- 
fish spirit which moved Anderson Roddenbery to give so 
freely of himself in the fight for the people is the same 
which moves the soldier to offer up his life upon the field 
of battle. For both, it is the sacrifice of self upon the 
altar of patriotism. 

[60] 



Address of Mr. Hughes, or Georgia 



Born on his father's farm and passing through the 
early years of his life, those impressionable years in 
which the seed of character are sown, he caught the spirit 
of fellowship which is known best to the humblest, and 
he cast his lot with them. He was essentially a man of 
the common people, a friend of the masses. 

In the year that he attained his majority he was elected 
a representative in the Georgia Legislature and was judge 
of the county court within three years after beginning 
the practice of law at the early age of 27. His service in 
each of these positions fully justified the wisdom of his 
people in their selection of him, for his work in the 
legislature was marked by that same earnestness of pur- 
pose which later, during his service in this House, at- 
tracted the attention of the Nation to the wonderful power 
of his brilliant mind, and in his administration of the 
law as judge there was mingled the sternness of justice 
with the tenderness of mercy. 

He was twice mayor of Thomasville, and served his 
people in many other public capacities, and always his 
service was marked by consecration to duty and a supe- 
rior intelligence. 

In his district, his county, his city, he was ever pro- 
nounced, conspicuous, and determined in his position on 
all questions of good citizenship, Christianity, morality, 
education of mind, heart, and soul, carrying the flag of 
the righteous and laboring in the cause of right. He never 
faltered when the welfare of his country, his State, or his 
community was the issue. 

Mr. Roddenbery made a record in his short service in 
the National Congress worthy of the highest expectations 
of his advocates, the fondest hopes of his friends and 
family. He was a lawyer of fine parts, a born debater, 
and never appeared to better advantage than in the give 
and take of debate. 



[61] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Roddenbery 

I was attracted by his many admirable qualities, but 
that which drew me closest to the inner man was not his 
prodigious energy, his fidelity to principle, and his skill 
in execution, but his private life. His precious baby 
daughters, Mary and Ruth, became my devoted friends. 
They were so endearing in their charming little manner- 
isms, with that beauty of the rosebud, giving its promise 
of the full-grown rose yet to come, that I often sought 
their companionship for mirth and bright moments with 
Heaven's glorious gift, the untarnished innocence of chil- 
dren. The devotion, the confidence, the love of the little 
girls for the father, as well as their mother, brought me 
in closer union with Anderson Roddenbery. I had an 
introduction through his two dear little daughters which 
showed to me the man in his family, a husband without 
guile, faithful and true, a father of tender solicitude and 
beautiful love. He was the sun of tenderness that radi- 
ated light and reflected happiness in the bright domain 
of his home. 

He was known best and loved most by those among 
whom he lived, those who were his daily associates in 
business, social, and political life — the residents of Thom- 
asville. They knew the worth of the man. 

I attended the last sad rites which were administered by 
the hands of loving and devoted friends, and it was deeply 
touching to see the personal loss his people suffered. 
To them it was not only Congressman Roddenbery who 
died, but Anderson Roddenbery, neighbor and friend. His 
name lives in the archives of the Nation, but shines 
brighter and more resplendent in the hearts of his people, 
the people for whom he labored so hard and unselfishly. 
He leaves an heritage to his family brighter and more to 
be valued than gold. He was an honest man, the noblest 
work of God. 



[62] 



Address of Mr. Howard, of Georgia 

Mr. Speaker: During the brief period since I entered 
this body three years ago the grim reaper has claimed a 
heavy toll from the ranks of my fellow Members. 

To those who doubt the assertion that the duties of a 
legislator are not only arduous and exacting but destruc- 
tive of life, I have but to mention the fact that in the short 
space of less than three brief years 26 Members of the 
two Houses of Congress have passed away to convince 
them of their error. This heavy quota of mortality is 
out of all proportion to the rank and file engaged on the 
firing line — greater, indeed, than vital statistics can show 
in either the Army or Navy in time of peace, or from 
the wear and tear due to the mad struggle for existence in 
any other field of human endeavor. 

Surely, when 5 per cent of our body, supposed to be in 
the full vigor of physical health and mental efficiency, 
succumb in such a brief period of time, we must look 
for some other cause than ordinary deterioration. That 
this cause is in many instances overwork — a conscien- 
tious sacrifice of self upon the altar of duty— a review of 
the appalling mortality among our Members must con- 
vince us. 

Conspicuous among those who have gone to premature 
graves as victims of the work to which they have conse- 
crated their lives for their conscience, their country, and 
their constituents is the name of my colleague, the late 
Representative S. A. Roddenbery, of Georgia. 

His death, which occurred at his home in Thomasville, 
Ga., on September 25, 1913, was so recent and so sudden 
that there are few, if any, here to-day but who will find 

[63] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Roddenbery 



difficulty in realizing that he is no longer among us. His 
presence in this Chamber was so constant and regular in 
the brief time that he served his district in Congress, and 
his personality so familiar, that we all recall him as of 
yesterday — a personality so simple, so frank, and so win- 
ning as at once to endear itself to all with whom he 
came in contact on both sides of the Chamber. With 
what a shock came the wholly unexpected news of his 
sudden breakdown and lamentable death. 

As I speak these words it seems incredible, impossible, 
that he is no longer here. As I look in vain for his famil- 
iar face and form in his wonted place and realize, alas, 
that he has left us forever — as the consciousness slowly 
dawns upon my senses that he is not, a sense of utter 
helplessness overwhelms me and fills my sorrowing heart 
with anguish supreme. 

O, Mr. Speaker, the task that I essay, the sweet privilege 
that I share with others in attempting to pay loving trib- 
ute to the life and character of my departed colleague sur- 
passes me. No feeble words of mine, no panegyric, how- 
ever adorned in conventional language, however decked 
and garlanded in the choicest wreaths of rhetoric, can 
adequately express the profound sense of personal loss 
which I feel for my friend who has passed to that " undis- 
covered country from whose bourn no traveler returns." 

In his untimely taking off this Chamber has lost not 
only one of its foremost and most useful Members — and 
that assertion I venture without fear of contradiction; not 
only have his district, his constituents, and the State of 
Georgia been deprived of a Representative of whom they 
were justly proud, but I have lost a friend, a friend who 
can not be replaced. 

Can storied urn or animated bust, 

Back to its mansion call the fleeting breath? 

Can honor's voice provoke the silent dust, 
Or flatt'ry soothe the dull, cold ear of death? 

[64] 



Address of Mr. Howard, of Georgia 



His seat has been filled in this body by a capable and 
able man; the quota of Representatives from Georgia in 
the National Legislature is full, and his name no longer 
appears on the official rolls; the ground, insatiate and in- 
exorable, has closed forever over his mortal remains, 
blotting from view all save his memory. But, in my 
heart, as in the hearts of all who knew and loved him 
as a devoted husband, a tender and indulgent father, an 
affectionate brother, a loyal, faithful friend, he yet lives, 
as he shall always live — in memory, ever green. 

It seems superfluous to delineate the character of this 
man to you, who sat with him, as I have, in this Chamber; 
to you who knew him as I did in life. It is like attempt- 
ing to paint the lily. But there may be some, perhaps, 
who did not know him so well, and to them I speak. 

In the words of Mark Antony, mourning for his friend, 
the great Caesar, let me say: 

This was the noblest Roman of them all. 

He only, in a general, honest thought 

And common good to all, made one of us. 

His life was gentle, and the elements 

So mix'd in him that Nature might stand up 

And say to all the world, " This was a man!" 

And I may, too, add with Hamlet: 

In my mind's eye I see him still. 

He was a man, take him for all in all, 

I shall not look upon his like again. 

The character of Roddenbery was one of singular sweet- 
ness and purity, as his nature was of simplicity, direct- 
ness, and conscientious adherence to his high ideals of 
truth and duty. Aye, duty! That is the keynote of his 
whole character. He set duty upon a pedestal, above 
every other purpose in life. He made it his lodestar and 
followed it to his death. He was a martyr to duty and 

57974°— 14 5 [65] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Roddenbery 

died at his post — as much so as any soldier who ever gave 
up his life to his country upon the battle field. 

Straining his frail physique beyond its limit in en- 
deavoring to give utterance to the vehemence of his pent 
emotions, expressed in the many eloquent and remark- 
able speeches delivered during the three sessions of the 
Sixty-second Congress, in which I sat with him, his 
physical powers were overtaxed, and his sudden, startling 
breakdown came, followed by his all too premature 
death. 

Death, the grim destroyer, which always loves a shining 

mark, overtook him in the full vigor of his wonderful 

mental energies and the high noon of his usefulness. His 

mind and heart — the spirit within him — were too great 

for the frail body which cramped his great soul. But 

when the dread summons came, he answered bravely, 

simply, as he had lived; he broke life's bondage with firm 

hand and yielded up his spirit to his Maker who gave 

it with the same calm courage and fearlessness that he 

always displayed in life. In refusing to quit his post, 

although knowing full well that it meant death for him to 

continue, he displayed a sublime fortitude and steadfast 

resolution. This is the highest type of courage, the 

supremest test of bravery. Faithful to his ideals, to his 

convictions, and to his purpose, he sacrificed himself 

upon the altar of duty. 

Of such a fate have men in dungeons dreamed, 
And with the vision brightening in their eyes, 
Gone smiling to the faggot and the sword. 

Mr. Speaker, I do not believe in elegiac eulogy, in mor- 
tuary panegyric, in fulsome praise of the dead, though 
custom has established and sanctified it as a necessary 
ceremony. I believe in strewing some of the flowers 
which adorn our devious paths through life along the 
trail as we go by, that their sweetness and fragrance may 

[66] 



Address of Mr. Howard, of Georgia 



rise, not as funeral incense in the death chamber, to hang 
heavy and suffocating around the sable trappings of dis- 
solution and decay, unbrcathed by him to whom their 
tribute is a mockery, but to be culled — -if only a modest 
daisy growing beside the highway — and handed to the 
wayfarer as he journeys along to sweeten his travail and 
fatigue. I believe, with that great preacher, Talmage, 
that a japonica in the living hand is better than chaplets 
of heliotrope and immortelles entwined about the marble 
brow of the dead. 

A rose to the living is more than sumptuous wreaths to the dead. 

In filling life's infinite store, a rose to the living is more, 

If graciously given before the hungering spirit hath fled: 

A rose to the living is more than sumptuous wreaths to the dead. 

But, unhappily, we are deterred by the conventions of 
intercourse, a false conception of modesty, or embarrass- 
ment from awarding to the deserving during life the 
laurels and posies justly due them, and wait until death 
has sealed their lips and closed their ears forever to 
toss our bouquets and breathe our benisons. 

Could Seaborn Anderson Roddenbery, alive, sit in this 
Chamber to-day and listen to the oratory and rhetoric 
expended in singing his virtues, he would doubtless blush 
with becoming modesty and deprecate these eulogies 
which we, his erstwhile colleagues and associates, strive 
to pay to his memory. And yet, I firmly believe, there is 
not one word uttered that is not heartfelt and sincere; that 
would not have been said of him living. But, oh, the pity 
of it that these poor words of praise are reserved for his 
funeral odes; that he passed away without knowing the 
estimate placed upon his character by his fellow man. 

Yet he looked for no praise and asked none, other than 
the approval of his own conscience, which had ever been 
his mentor and whose signet has ever been his guerdon 
and his goal. 

[67] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Roddenbery 



If there is a man in this Chamber, an auditor within the 
sound of my voice, who was Roddenbery's enemy, who 
did not respect, admire, and honor him in life, he did not 
know it; and I am certain whereof I speak when I make 
the assertion that no Member of this body has passed 
away since I have been in Congress who is more sincerely 
and universally mourned than my late colleague. 

Elected to the Sixty-first Congress in February, 1910, 
to fill the unexpired term of his predecessor, Judge Griggs, 
from the second district of Georgia, he was successively 
reelected to each of the two succeeding Congresses with- 
out opposition. 

A quiet man of unpretentious and unassuming de- 
meanor, he plunged at once into the great arena of politi- 
cal strife and turbulency. Like the Roman gladiator of 
old, a very paladin of virile energy and inspired zeal, he 
hurled himself, with broadsword and pennoned lance, 
into the forensic forum. From the day that he took his 
seat until that when he was forced to take to his bed, 
unconscious, his voice was heard and his influence felt 
in committee and in debate. A very whirlwind, a fire- 
brand of eloquence and oratory, his words, sentient with 
virile force and strength and pulsating with the ebullition 
of feeling which called them forth, rang through this 
Chamber as few others have done in every cause in which 
his convictions were aroused and enlisted. Few others 
have ever been listened to with more rapt attention than 
Roddenbery. He has harangued the House from both 
sides of the Chamber, for, in advocating the principles 
which he championed, he has gone across the great aisle, 
taking his stand among those of the opposition and speak- 
ing to them from their own vantage ground, as did St. 
Paul to the men of Athens. Nor did he spare his own 
party where he thought it wrong and deserved censure. 
Now that he is gone, his influence and aid will be missed 



[68] 



Address of Mr. Howard, or Georgia 



and his loss deplored by his political friends and foes 
alike, for when we battle we love a focman worthy of 
our steel. 

God give us such men! A time like this demands 
Strong minds, great hearts, true faith, and ready hands; 
Men whom the lust of office docs not kill; 

Men whom the spoils of office can not buy; 
Men who possess opinions and a will; 

Men who have honor; men who will not lie; 
Men who can stand before a demagogue 

And damn his treacherous flatteries without winking; 
True men, sun crowned, who live above the fog 

In public duty and in private thinking; 
For while the rabble, with their thumb-worn creeds, 
Their large professions and their little deeds, 
Mingle in selfish strife, lo, Freedom weeps, 
Wrong rules the land, and Roddenbery sleeps. 

Roddenbery has gone, and with him is stilled forever a 
native eloquence and a fervid tongue, attributes of the 
genius of reformers of all ages, with which men, pos- 
sessed of his God-given power of oratory and lofty in- 
spirations, have charmed the world and molded the des- 
tinies of nations. Enlisted in a righteous cause, as his 
were ever, these weapons have become the levers of great 
political ends, like those of Hampden and Cromwell, who 
like Roddenbery were tribunes of the people. 

The field of his activities was as wide and varied as the 
restless spirit which inspired him. Immediately after his 
graduation he accepted and filled the chair of languages 
and mathematics at the South Georgia College. He was 
married at 21 years of age to Miss Johnnie Butler, who 
survives him and has been the helpmate and partner of 
his remaining two decades of life, sharing his successes 
and encouraging and assisting him in his endeavors. 

The same qualities which so distinguished him here 
made him a leader in his community and section. His 
rise at the bar and his reputation as an able and forceful 

[69] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Roddenbery 



lawyer were rapid, continuous in progress, and certain 
and conspicuous in achievement. It would be out of 
place here, even had I the time, to recount these achieve- 
ments. 

Within the limits proper for these remarks it is as diffi- 
cult a task to speak in reasonably adequate terms of Rod- 
denbery's services in Congress as it is to attempt to do 
justice to his enviable traits as a man. 

He was a lovable man, and he was greatly beloved on 
both sides of the House. He was honest, simple to a 
fault. His attention to duty, his fidelity to his trust, to 
his duty as he saw it, his capacity for hard work, his tire- 
less energy and industry, and his official and personal 
integrity all impressed themselves upon his fellow Mem- 
bers; and, at the time of his death, he was becoming 
familiar to the public at large through his fiery speeches. 
He was the uncompromising foe of extravagance in 
the Government and of every form of corruption. Of 
everything that could benefit the people at large, and 
particularly the great agricultural classes, he was a 
spirited champion. It was no affectation in him that he 
loved the common people — he was of them, united to 
them by bonds of blood and association. It was with him 
an instinct. 

There can not be the shadow of doubt that in his death 
he was a self-immolated martyr to his duty as he con- 
ceived it. He was conjured by his family and his closest 
friends to let up in his work and cease his strenuous 
speeches which were, all too plainly, breaking down his 
strength, none too vigorous. He steadfastly refused to 
heed the warning. He remained at the helm and died 
with his face turned to windward and his hand clutching, 
with nerveless fingers, the spokes of the wheel. 

Mr. Speaker, throughout Georgia there was universal 
sorrow when he died, and a great concourse of his fellow 

[70] 



Address of Mr. Howard, of Georgia 



citizens, some of them coming from a long distance, 
attended his funeral and stood at his bier to pay loving 
tribute to him whom they had honored. He sleeps under 
the hills of his native State, beneath a wilderness of 
flowers. In laying this poor wreath upon his grave, in 
paying this tribute to the memory of him I loved in life, 
I feel how utterly inadequate is its expression to his 
worth. 

He was a man — 

I shall not look upon his like again! 
Peace to his ashes! 

Faithful to his ideals, Roddenbery yielded up his useful 
life, yet he did not die in vain. The grandest examples 
which have descended to us from the pages of history, 
sacred as well as profane, are those of the early Christian 
martyrs and the more modern scientific reformers who 
have surrendered their lives upon the altar of sacrifice, 
the silent heroes who have suffered martyrdom for prin- 
ciples, who have died at their posts of duty, as Roddenbery 
did. No better tribute can be paid to his memory than is 
contained in these two words — Death and Duty. 

Dead at his post of duty! 

What finer eulogy? All the boast 
Of pomp and glory seem but idle breath 
Beside the calm, quiet dignity of Death! 
Where Death and Duty meet 
Is found solution most complete 

Of all life's problems; 'tis enough — 

Dead and at his post! 



[71] 



Address of Mr. Walker, of Georgia 

Mr. Speaker: I can not hope to pay just tribute to the 
memory of Georgia's brilliant son, whose untimely death 
we so much lament, but with the thousands of patriotic 
citizens who loved him I come to breathe for a moment 
the sweet fragrance of the flowers he has left behind and 
to lay upon the sacred altar of his fame my words of 
admiration and approval. 

A little more than 44 years ago Seaborn Anderson Rod- 
denbery was born in the district which he so ably repre- 
sented. Born of humble but noble parentage, he caught 
his first inspiration 'mid the hills and flowers of Decatur 
and Thomas Counties. His indomitable will and courage 
early attracted the attention of the public, when, prac- 
tically unaided, he fought his way from the furrows in 
the field to the halls of the General Assembly of Georgia, 
at the age of 21 years. His public service as a State legis- 
lator was able and brilliant. He only served one term, 
declining reelection, and turned his talents to the school- 
room, where the impress of his exalted character is found 
and exemplified to-day in the noblest and best citizenship 
of southeast Georgia. During this devoted service to the 
youth of his country he studied law, which profession he 
soon graced as an able counselor and brilliant advocate. 
He was soon elevated to the bench of the county court of 
Thomas County, where his clear and forceful knowledge 
of the law and judicial opinion soon stamped him as one 
of the ablest jurists of his great State. His impartial 
rulings and clear opinions on the bench have contributed 
much to the noble profession to which he was so much 
devoted and which he so much loved. After four years 



[72] 



Address of Mr. Walker, of Georgia 



of devoted service on the bench he declined reappoint- 
ment and returned to the active practice of his chosen 
profession. He served as mayor of the beautiful city of 
Thomasville for two terms and was afterwards president 
of the Board of Education of Thomas County. His public 
service in all these positions of trust and honor was char- 
acterized by consecrated and devoted purpose. The 
grand old Commonwealth of Georgia loves and reveres 
the blessed memory of Anderson Roddenbery. 

His brilliant speeches as the peerless advocate and cham- 
pion of prohibition are immortalized in her sober and cour- 
ageous manhood, in her tender, pure, and Christian woman- 
hood. But the people of Georgia are unselfish, and being 
a generous and benevolent people we share the rich and 
priceless virtues of our noble son with the Nation and 
with the world. As a Member of this House my asso- 
ciation with this distinguished scholar and statesman was 
all too brief, but we can not understand the ways of an 
all-wise and unerring Providence. The weak and frail 
body of Mr. Roddenbery could no longer sustain and sup- 
port his yet unconquered will and giant intellect, and 
while many of us realized for months before the end that 
he could not live, yet when the news of his death was 
flashed throughout the country we were not prepared to 
receive it. His physicians and friends had advised and 
begged him to stop and rest, but his restless spirit could 
not be still. He died a martyr to duty, true to his 
trust, true to his country, and consecrated to the God who 
gave him life. He was a man of fixed purpose, deep con- 
viction, and unbounded courage. He was absolutely 
fearless in debate, yet kind, courteous, and considerate 
of those who differed with him on public questions. Well 
may the youth of his country follow and emulate his 
example. Anderson Roddenbery is no more. His " voice- 
less lips " can no longer champion the cause of humanity 



[73] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Roddenbery 

and right. "O thoughtless speech that calls thee dead." 
Educator, brilliant lawyer and jurist, statesman, and 
patriot, your tired form has lain down to rest, but while 
you sleep the tender and sacred memories of our friend- 
ship and affection shall live on, and the sovereign people 
of your beloved State shall keep watch eternal o'er your 
rich and priceless contribution to her patriotic and nobler 
citizenship. 



[74] 



Address of Mr. Floyd, of Arkansas 

Mr. Speaker: I feel it my duty as a friend of the late 
Mr. Roddenbery to speak one word of tribute to his mem- 
ory on this occasion. My acquaintance with him began 
when he entered this body during the Sixty-first Con- 
gress. During the Sixty-second Congress my scat was 
immediately in front of his, and we became close and 
intimate friends. I want to say that, in my opinion, few 
men, and I may safely say no man, has entered the House 
of Representatives since I have been a Member of it who 
has taken such rank and gained such universal respect 
and confidence among his fellow Members in so short a 
period of service as did Mr. Roddenbery. It is a well- 
known fact to all of us who were here in the Sixty-second 
Congress that the question on which he established his 
reputation and demonstrated, perhaps, his greatest abil- 
ity was an exceedingly unpopular one, namely, opposition 
to private pension bills. A large majority of the House 
was against him. Few Members of the House on either 
side had any sympathy with the great fight he made in 
opposition to these private pension bills and a large ma- 
jority violently opposed his views and position in refer- 
ence to these bills. As was said this afternoon by a 
Member on the other side of the Chamber, I believe that 
his position and opposition to these measures were mis- 
understood. I want to say that, knowing him as I did and 
enjoying his full confidence, I believe his position in re- 
gard to these measures was misunderstood not only by 
Members of the House but by the country at large. 

Mr. Roddenbery often said to me privately that he defied 
anyone to show where he had ever said one word against 

[75] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Roddenbery 

a needy and deserving Federal soldier receiving a pen- 
sion. I believe an analysis of his speeches in these great 
debates on that question would fully justify that state- 
ment. He hated pretense and he hated fraud. He did not 
like to see a man of wealth or a man holding a high sal- 
aried position receiving a pension from the Government. 
He did not like to see pensions given to deserters. He 
did not like to see those whose record did not justify a 
pension under general laws given a pension by the special 
favor of Congress, and hence he scrutinized carefully 
every item in these omnibus bills and boldly criticized 
those items that he considered without merit. 

If you recall his criticisms in these debates, he would 
show that he was objecting to particular cases, and he 
would detail the facts at great length in order to justify 
his position. His every effort was in the face of opposi- 
tion, and independently of what any man might think 
he dared to oppose them and did oppose them with such 
matchless skill and ability that he finally brought the 
attention of the House and the country to his masterful 
tact and skill as a debater and to his superb ability, and 
in the end he convinced all of his sincerity, honesty, and 
integrity of purpose, and gained the confidence and re- 
spect of men on both sides of the Chamber. 

I happen to know Mr. Roddenbery's views on other mat- 
ters, and he was equally zealous on every question that 
involved a principle. He stood for the right as God had 
given him to see the right. I want to repeat what has 
been said by others preceding me, that he was honest not 
only morally but intellectually, and he had upon all ques- 
tions the courage of his convictions. He yielded to no 
man his judgment, however high in authority that man 
might be, and it mattered not to him whether opposition 
to his views came from members of his own party or the 
opposite party. When convinced he was right, he was 



[76] 



Address of Mr. Floyd, of Arkansas 



as firm and immovable as sonic vast mountain whose 
towering peak extends into the clouds and stands serene 
in its solitary grandeur. 

Those were the qualities that gave him rank in this 
body and that peculiarly fitted him to a great service in 
this House — high moral courage, courage to stand for his 
conceptions of right, whatever those conceptions might be. 
This courage S. A. Roddenbery possessed in as high a de- 
gree as any man that it was ever my pleasure to know. 
And yet, withal, he was a man of genial disposition. He 
stood for the principle. He never became angry at an 
antagonist. He stood for his own high ideals, and he 
defended those high ideals with a matchless eloquence 
that is remarkable even in this Chamber. 

I want to say in conclusion that I loved and admired 
him, and I felt impelled by a sense of duty to pay this 
humble tribute to the memory of a true friend. 



[77] 



Address of Mr. Bartlett, of Georgia 

Mr. Speaker : I can add but little to the tribute that has 
been paid here to-day by my fellow Members to the 
memory of my departed friend and colleague, Judge Rod- 
denbery. It would be impossible in the time allotted for 
these eulogies to present in more than briefest outline the 
principles which guided and controlled the conduct of 
our late comrade in both his public and private life. Mr. 
Speaker, the excellencies of mind and heart which char- 
acterized him in his more intimate personal relations were 
truly reflected in his larger relation to the body politic 
as a public man and servant of the people. Loyalty, not 
only to friend and fellow man, but to ideal and conviction, 
was the great directing force of his energies in whatever 
sphere of action they were employed. Too often we hear 
the complaint that the man of lofty ideals, however com- 
petent he may be to resist evil in the restricted sphere of 
his private dealings and relations, is unable to cope with 
the far more complex and potential forces which beset the 
man in public life and too often tempt him to sacrifice 
honest conviction to political expediency. On every hand 
we hear that good men are prone to be weak in the open 
advocacy of that which they truly believe to be right, and 
that the bold and courageous efforts of men are most 
frequently directed to the service of quite selfish ends. 
Mr. Speaker, as a complete refutation of the cynical no- 
tion, so often expressed nowadays, that the man in public 
life must run counter to his own truest thought and con- 
viction, let me point to the life of our departed friend, 
replete as it was with good deeds performed for the public 
weal under conditions requiring the exercise of moral 

[78] 



Address of Mr. Bartlett, of Georgia 

courage of the very highest order. Here was a man who 
never compromised the truth as he saw and believed it, 
and never did he enlist his splendid talents in a cause 
that did not command his truest thought and sympathies. 
From early manhood his naturally combative mind had 
been trained in that severest of all forensic schools, the 
court room, and when he reached this Hall, though young 
in years, he was an intellectual foeman worthy the most 
seasoned debater's steel. To him political virtue consisted 
in something more than mere subscription to the tenets 
of his party's faith; to him it meant action, ceaseless and 
dynamic action, to bring to his fellow men the actual and 
present realization of the blessings of good government; 
to him it meant the putting on of the full armor of 
righteousness and uncompromising warfare on the co- 
horts of special favor and privilege. Public office and 
station represented something more to him than the mere 
realization of personal ambition; it represented to him 
opportunity to serve his fellow men, and I need not say 
how well that opportunity was improved. 

Judge Roddenbery was truly a man free from envy, 
hatred, or malice. In both private life and public station 
he followed the injunction of the great Apostle that- 
Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, what- 
soever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever 
things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there 
be any virtue and there be any praise, think on these things. 

So did he travel through life's common way in cheerful 

godliness. 

Cut off at a comparatively early age, our friend has 
been called from this Hall, almost upon the threshold of 
his duties here, but we are comforted by the thought that 
in the everlasting halls above his freed spirit awaits the 
final convocation of the just. 



[79] 



Address of Mr. Heflin, of Alabama 

Mr. Speaker : Again the flag above the House of Repre- 
sentatives hangs at half-mast and another Member of this 
body has answered his last roll call. 

Judge Roddenbery has answered the summons that 
awaits us all. In the midst of life we are in death. His 
service here was brief, but he crowded into that brief 
service industry and ability of a high order and served 
his people faithfully and well. He was enthusiastic and 
thorough in whatever he undertook to do. He was an 
untiring worker, and I fear that he overtaxed his strength. 
He was an able lawyer and one of the best parliamen- 
tarians in the House. He was a splendid debater and a 
conscientious, fearless, and faithful representative of the 
people. 

The House mourns his loss and deeply sympathizes 
with his good wife and children and the people that he 
represented so ably and loved so well. 

Mr. Park. Mr. Speaker, there are a number of Members 
who are unable to be present to-day who desire to express 
their appreciation of the life, character, and services of 
our deceased colleague, Mr. Roddenbery, and I ask unani- 
mous consent that all Members who desire to do so may 
have the privilege of printing remarks in the Record. 

The Speaker pro tempore. The gentleman from Georgia 
asks unanimous consent that all Members desiring to do 
so be given leave to print remarks on the life, character, 
and public services of our late colleague, Mr. Roddenbery. 
Is there objection? 

There was no objection. 

[80] 



Address of Mr. Heflin, of Alabama 



The Speaker pro tempore. The question now is on 
agreeing to the resolutions. 

The resolutions were agreed to. 

ADJOURNMENT 

Then, in accordance with the resolutions heretofore 
adopted (at 3 o'clock and 11 minutes p. m.), the House 
adjourned until to-morrow, Monday, February 9, 1911, 
at 12 o'clock noon. 



57974°— 14 6 [81 \ 



RODDENBERY PARK, THOMASVILLE, Ga. 

Friday, March 27, 19U 

Mr. Park introduced a bill (H. R. 15110) to acquire, by 
purchase, condemnation, or otherwise, additional land x 
for the post office in the city of Thomasville, Ga., which 
was referred to the Committee on Public Ruildings and 
Grounds and ordered to be printed. 

Friday, May 1, 191k 

Mr. Park, from the Committee on Public Buildings and 
Grounds, to which was referred the bill (H. R. 15110) to 
acquire, by purchase, condemnation, or otherwise, addi- 
tional land for the post office in the city of Thomasville, 
Ga., reported the same without amendment, accompa- 
nied by a report (No. 600), which said bill and report 
were referred to the Committee of the Whole House on 
the state of the Union. 

The report (No. 600) follows : 

The Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds, to which 
was referred the bill (H. R. 15110) providing for the purchase 
of additional land for the public-building site at Thomasville, 
Ga., having considered the same, beg to report thereon with the 
recommendation that the bill pass. 

The purpose of this bill is to acquire a small parcel of land 
which adjoins the present public-building site in the city of 
Thomasville. The acquisition of this additional land will give 
the site a frontage on three streets in the very heart of the city. 
It will also enable the Treasury Department to place the building 
farther back on the lot than was originally intended, giving 
ample fire protection and wide lawns on all sides. It is the very 

1 Named Roddenbery Park by act of Congress in honor of the late Hon. 
Seaborn Anderson Roddenbery. (See p. 94 and p. 102.) 



[82] 



Proceedings in the House 



earnest desire of the citizens of Thomasville that they be per- 
mitted to beautify this lawn, make of it a park, and name it for 
Hon. Seaborn Anderson Roddenbery, their late fellow townsman 
and Representative in Congress. 

The Treasury Department states that there will he no need t<, 
change the plans of the building, the only change necessary 
being that of the approaches, and they state that this can he 
done without additional expense, the only expense necessary 
being that of acquiring the additional land. 

Monday, June 15, 191k 

The next business on the Calendar for Unanimous Con- 
sent was the bill (H. R. 15110) to acquire, by purchase, 
condemnation, or otherwise, additional land for the post 
office in the city of Thomasville, Ga. 

The Clerk read the bill, as follows : 

Be it enacted, etc., That the Secretary of the Treasury be, and 
he is hereby, authorized and directed, in his discretion, to 
acquire, by purchase, condemnation, or otherwise, the portion 
of land between the post-office site and Madison Street, same 
width as post-office site and running back 56 feet, to enlarge the 
site for the post-office building at Thomasville, Ga., at a cost not 
to exceed $5,000. 

The Speaker. Is there objection? 

Mr. Mann. Reserving the right to object, Mr. Speaker, is 
there any reason for this except the desire of the people 
of Thomasville to have the Government buy the land in 
order that they may have a park named after our late 
colleague, Mr. Roddenbery? 

Mr. Park. Yes, sir. There is another reason not given 
in the report. We expect to ask later, if we can get it, 
a United States court room, and the people wish the 
ground to be extended far enough to put the court room 
and clerk and marshal's office above the post office. I 
wish to offer an amendment by unanimous consent. 



[83] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Roddenbery 

Mr. Mann. The gentleman can have his amendment read 
for information. 

The Speaker. Without objection, the amendment will 
be reported. 

There was no objection. 

The Clerk read as follows : 

1. The enlarged site, except where buildings, further additions, 
and approaches are located, to be used as a park to be known as 
" Roddenbery Park," to be maintained by the city of Thomas- 
ville, Ga. 

2. That the maintenance of the park in no way interfere with 
present or future plans of the Government regarding govern- 
mental use of the site. 

Mr. Park. Mr. Speaker, in a little city, largest but one 
in the district whence I come and second largest winter 
resort in Georgia, an appropriation of $70,000 has been 
made for a post-office site and building; a site has been 
purchased, and plans and specifications prepared. 

The site is in the heart of the city on the Corner of two 
prominent streets. 

The authorization and appropriation were obtained 
through my predecessor, whose home was there and 
where his family still live. 

Since his death the city authorities desire me to ask 
Congress for $5,000 to secure an addition to the site, which 
will give them, in all, a space 144 by 211 feet, and they 
wish the building placed in the center. It now faces two 
streets; it will then front three. 

The Supervising Architect states that it is unnecessary 
to change plans, and no changes will be made except 
approaches, which will not add expense. 

The people of Thomasville ask Congress to allow them 
to make a park of the space not occupied by the building, 
to be maintained at their expense and not interfere with 
the rights of the Government, only the privilege to adorn 

[84] 



Proceedings in the House 



and care for it — the right to name it " Roddenbery Park ' 
for my predecessor. 

The park will be in the business center, facing e;isl the 
Tosco Hotel, north the county courthouse, and west the 
Stewart House. 

By my request, and by the grace of the President and 
the Senate, the widow of Congressman Roddenbery has 
been appointed postmaster in Thomasville, and she will 
preside in this building. 

The park is to be sodded and planted in bulbs, shrubs, 
and trees. 

Here will commingle the blue of the violet and the gray 
of the lily. 

Here will intertwine the white rose of the North and the 
red rose of the South, whose fragrance and beauty shall 
tell of peace never again to be broken by warring sections. 

Here the Confederate jessamine, bravely clinging, will 
reach to kiss with perfumed breath the folds of the shel- 
tering flag. 

Here morning-glories in sweet accord will point their 
purple bugles to the skies to greet the roseate dawn. 

Here may come the health seeker and breathe with 
healing the balsam-laden air. 

Here may the myrtle flaunt its crimson plumes in shim- 
mering, golden sunshine, and aromatic shrubs waft their 
perfume in atmosphere trembling to the droning of bees. 

Here in the heart of this health resort, set like a jewel 
in the bosom of southwestern Georgia, I ask the Congress 
to perpetuate the memory of Seaborn Anderson Rodden- 
bery; here, where he lived, had his triumphs and defeats, 
his sorrows and his joys, and died and is buried — the 
country of the grape, the melon, and the peach; the clime 
of the honeysuckle, the eglantine, and yellow jessamine, 
which draw their exquisite flavor and fragrance from the 
air in which they bloom and ripen; and when loving 



[85] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Roddenbery 

hands of his former fellow citizens shall adorn the spot, 
you will behold again the " hawthorn bush with seats 
beneath the shade for talking age and whispering lovers 
made." 

Here will " the musk of magnolia hang thick in the air 
and the lily's phylacteries broaden in prayer." 

Here the convalescent, the puny child, and sickly babe 
may rest in the calm of Indian summer, in the gentle 
zephyrs of blushing spring, and may breathe the ozone 
of subtropical winter. 

In this lovely park the mocking bird, " the trim Shake- 
speare of the South," will year after year build his 
nest and rear his young and trill in sweet concord his 
roundelay. 

And all will go to enshrine in the hearts of his country- 
men the name and fame of a loyal son of Georgia and the 
South. 

I earnestly ask the members of this House to pass the 
bill. [Loud applause.] 

The Speaker. Is there objection? 

Mr. Mann. Reserving the right to object, Mr. Speaker, 
I had a very high opinion of the gentleman from Georgia, 
Mr. Roddenbery, during his lifetime, and I have the same 
feeling about him now; and I also have a very high opin- 
ion of his successor [applause], who has paid to the mem- 
ory of Mr. Roddenbery a beautiful tribute. But I do not 
believe that Congress is called upon to erect a statue or 
provide a park for each Member of the House as he passes 
on. I doubt whether we could commence with one and 
stop there. There are some Members of the House that 
I would be willing to erect a statue for — but not yet. 
[Laughter.] I object. 

The Speaker. The gentleman from Illinois objects. 

Mr. Park. Will the gentleman withdraw his objection 
just a moment, while I ask unanimous consent to with- 



[86] 



Proceedings in the House 



draw that amendment and offer one that the gentleman 
can not object to? 

Mr. Mann. The gentleman's amendment is not before 
the House. 

Mr. Park. I wish to have it read. 

Mr. Mann. I withhold my objection. I do not care how 
many amendments the gentleman offers. 

The Speaker. Without objection, the amendment will 
be reported. 

There was no objection. 

The Clerk read as follows : 

1. Strike out all below line 2 and insert: 

"That the city of Thomasville, Ga., acquire title to the land 
between the post-office site and Madison Street, same width as 
post-office site and extending 56 feet, and make good title to the 
Government of the United States to enlarge the post-office build- 
ing site at Thomasville, Ga. 

" 2. That the enlarged site, except where buildings, further 
additions, and approaches are located, be used as a park, to be 
known as ' Roddenbery Park,' to be maintained by the city of 
Thomasville." 

Mr. Mann. Still reserving the right to object, what is 
there that will prevent the city of Thomasville doing this, 
if it wishes to? 

Mr. Park. We could not use the remaining portion of 
the lot unless the Government permitted us to do so. 
The city can deed it to the Government when they acquire 
it, and then they would like to use the entire lot that is not 
occupied by the building and approaches. 

Mr. Mann. I do not understand this sufficiently to con- 
sent to its consideration now. The gentleman can ask 
to have the matter go over. 

Mr. Park. It involves no appropriation of money on the 
part of the Government. I will ask that it go over without 
prejudice. 

[87] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Roddenbery 

The Speaker. The gentleman from Georgia asks unani- 
mous consent that the bill be passed without prejudice. 
Is there objection? 

There was no objection. 

Monday, July 20, 19U 

The next business on the Calendar for Unanimous 
Consent was the bill (H. R. 15110) to acquire, by pur- 
chase, condemnation, or otherwise, additional land for 
the post office in the city of Thomasville, Ga. 

The Clerk read the bill, as follows: 

Be it enacted, etc., That the Secretary of the Treasury be, and 
he is hereby, authorized and directed, in his discretion, to ac- 
quire, by purchase, condemnation, or otherwise, the portion of 
land between the post-office site and Madison Street, same width 
as post-office site and running back 56 feet, to enlarge the site 
for the post-office building at Thomasville, Ga., at a cost not to 
exceed $5,000. 

Mr. Park. Mr. Speaker, before the discussion I ask 
unanimous consent that the amendment which I send to 
the Clerk's desk may be read for information. 

The Speaker. Without objection, the Clerk will read. 

The Clerk read as follows : 

Amendment No. 1 to H. R. 15110: " That the said enlarged post- 
office site, except where buildings, further additions, and ap- 
proaches are or may hereafter be located, may, in the discretion 
of the Secretary of the Treasury, be used as a public park, to be 
known as Roddenbery Park, to be maintained by the city of 
Thomasville under regulations to be prescribed from time to 
time by the Secretary of the Treasury." 

Mr. Park. Mr. Speaker, on a former occasion when the 
bill was under consideration the great Illinoisan, Mr. 
Mann, objected on the ground, as I understood it, that we 
could not afford to appropriate money to dedicate a 

[88] 



Proceedings in the House 



monument or a park to each Member of the House as he 
passes on his way. 

The idea uppermost in his mind, I deem, was appre- 
hension lest a precedent be set that might in years to 
come unwarrantably drain the Treasury. 

If passage of this bill with an appropriation to acquire 
further space to create a little memorial park will set a 
precedent then I agree with him. 

I have much admiration and respect for the well-con- 
sidered opinions and judgment of this great statesman. 

As a slight tribute of my esteem I say that I have sat 
under the wand of the magician, entranced by the witch- 
ery of his wit and the charm of his logic — and I may add 
that his superb eloquence has more than once lifted him- 
self and his party, and members of other parties, to a state 
of feeling exalted beyond partisan standards, reaching 
true statesmanship — and, knowing his keen perception 
and broad patriotism, I can not but feel that through my 
inefficiency on the last occasion when this bill was pre- 
sented an understanding was not reached of the exact 
purpose and reasons therefor in my mind. I am con- 
strained to further explain the causes and conditions upon 
which I base this request, and by reason of which I con- 
tend no precedent can be established by the passage of 
this bill. 

Precedents are made from causes and conditions, and 
unless succeeding causes and conditions are similar there 
is no precedent for them. 

No person born and reared or who has lived outside of 
influences which exist below the old Mason and Dixon's 
line since the Civil War can know or appreciate the feel- 
ings and emotions that throb in the breasts of southern 

men. 

Mr. Speaker, go with me a half century and more in the 
past, to the period preceding and during my predecessor's 

[89] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Roddenbery 

life, and consider the atmosphere into which he was born 
and which he breathed and was fed upon until his advent 
to this Hall. 

He was familiar with the history of conditions that pre- 
ceded his birth, when slavery and secession were creating 
discord and threatening to disrupt the Union. 

Men of great intellect and of stern convictions on both 
sides of the question were drawing apart and preparing 
for what appeared a coming great conflict. A United 
States Senator, afterwards President of the Confederacy, 
withdrew from the Senate with a speech memorable and 
immortal on his lips. Such men as Robert Toombs, of 
Georgia, William L. Yancey, of Alabama, and others took 
the same view, their views being combated by men of 
equal intellect and convictions on the opposite side. In 
civil and military life a division was rapidly drawn. 
Robert E. Lee, then in service of the Union, withdrew his 
blade from that service and tendered it to Virginia, his 
mother State, as did many other West Pointers; and as 
the Union ranks were depleted by these withdrawals 
they were augmented by others of the same faith and 
equal determination, who closed their ranks and gathered 
around the Stars and Stripes to battle for the Union. And 
when the first gun was fired at Fort Sumter there was 
unfurled the banner of the stars and bars that floated and 
rippled from the Atlantic all the way to the Rio Grande 
and far up to the Missouri; beneath its folds there rallied 
a devoted throng of planters and plainsmen, men from 
field, city, shop, and profession, all with a common im- 
pulse and prayer on their lips, swearing, as they came, 
that where that flag led they would dare to follow and 
to die. 

Alongside the South Carolinians and their " rattlesnake 
flag," with defiant motto, " Don't tread on me," ranged 
Texans and their azure banner with single central star, 

[90] 



Proceedings in the I lor si: 



and war memories of Goliad and San Jacinto tenderly 
but firmly tuning their heartstrings to battle. 

And so the conflict came. The army of Northern Vir- 
ginia clashed with the army of the Potomac, and the flush 
and roar and roll of battle scourged the land during four 
eventful years. At its close was the usual wreckage — the 
armless sleeve, the wooden leg, the shattered constitu- 
tion — and his vivid imagination beheld " the warrior's 
manner take its flight to greet the warrior's soul." The 
South fought and lost all save honor and a few defeated 
but unconquered heroes. Nothing was left but the land 
and a mourning people, amidst whom ranged at will, 
loosed with a pen stroke, 4,000,000 of half-savage people, 
made unruly by men unworthy of the great East and 
North whence they came, and who whispered words of 
delusive hope into their willing ears. 

For more than a decade in wretchedness the people of 
the South suffered, struggled, and prayed for deliverance, 
and none but the Anglo-Saxon of pure blood could have 
stood the strain. 

Born during the decade succeeding the war, consider 
my predecessor as he opened his eyes upon the light 
and grew from boyhood into manhood's estate, and heard 
the eloquent story of those he honored, the story of the 
terrible conflict, believing they were right. And as 
Memorial Day succeeded Memorial Day he learned to 
feel keenly in his sensitive nature the sufferings of the 
people he most loved. He saw daily around him women 
who had been delicately nurtured, clad in faded, patched, 
and worn calico, turning their hands to the most menial 
tasks. He saw gray-bearded men in faded patched gray 
bending to the plow, fighting a sterner battle alone and 
unfriended than they or their companions fought from 
Manassas all the way through Spottsylvania and the Wil- 
derness to sad but hallowed Appomattox. As he grew 



[91] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Roddenbery 

older his convictions grew stronger, and when pension 
legislation was enacted and there was added to the over- 
burdened Southland in her wreck and ruin greater bur- 
dens than they could bear, he felt that the vanquished 
were driven by the law of the sword to contribute of their 
poverty to pension the victors, and there was " no pity, 
no relenting ruth"; and his honest, earnest spirit indig- 
nant rose at the real or fancied wrong, and when he came 
here he came with full belief that there was great injus- 
tice done his people, and with great determination to 
right the wrong, with his slight body and great spirit, 
he felt he would overcome in part and rally others to 
him, and would finally overcome what he considered 
cruel injustice. So believing, he entered the lists and 
struck the shield of the doughtiest of his opponents with 
lance point, and attacked boldly pension legislation 
wherever he found a vulnerable point in the armor. He 
thought about it, pondered over it, argued for it, and 
came to the floor and fought, and sometimes won in sin- 
gle instances, and sometimes won in more than sin- 
gle instances, and by his determined stand believed he 
would accomplish a mission. At length his frail body, 
in which the spirit was bigger than the frame that held it, 
rose and expanded in his mighty efforts to the bursting 
point, and the finger of Almighty God lightly touched 
the tricuspid valve of his heart and there was a purpling 
of the lips, a bluing of the finger nails, a paling of the 
face — those infallible tokens of regurgitation of the blood 
into the chambers whence nature had forced it into the 
life-giving circuit. 

Circulation became slow, the brain and body grew 
weaker and weaker. His spirit was still strong to fight, 
but he knew on the instant that the dusky wing of the 
death angel was hovering him under. Although he 
struggled on, shortly he retired to his home at Thomas- 



[92] 



Proceedings in the House 



ville, with full knowledge that his task was ended though 
unfinished, and there he met the fate which awaited him, 
and awaits all, with the cool, naked courage witli which 
he met obstacles here and elsewhere. 

Believing as I do and feeling as I do, that he received 
the injury which caused his death while battling here 
for that reason, I say, and for these causes and circum- 
stances I have related, I declare, there can be no prece- 
dent established when you dedicate this park to his 
memory. 

Contemplating his last moments, Byron's immortal 
imagery of Kirk White shapes before me : 

Unhappy White, when life was in its spring, 

And thy young muse just waved her joyous wing, 

The Spoiler came, and all thy promise fair 

Has sought the grave to sleep forever there. 

Yes; she, too, much indulged thy fond pursuit; 

She sowed the seed, but Death has reaped the fruit. 

So the struck eagle, stretch'd upon the plain, 

No more through rolling clouds to soar again, 

View'd his own feather on the fatal dart 

And wing'd the shaft that quiver'd in his heart. 

There will not be in a century, if ever, circumstances, 
facts, and causes that will make another instance which 
can point to this act as a precedent. Feeling that here 
where he received the mortal blow is where the sign of 
remembrance should be set up, I ask again in this brief 
and faulty explanation to this House, that they vote the 
passage of this bill with the amendment incorporated 
therein. [Applause.] 

The Speaker. Is there objection? 

Mr. Mann. Reserving the right to object, Mr. Speaker, I 
would like to say to my friend from Georgia [Mr. Park] 
that I would not be willing to have the Government pur- 



[93] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Roddenbery 

chase land as a post-office site for the purpose of using 
it as a park. If the people of Thomasville desire to 
present this land to the Government in connection with 
the post-office site, I would have no objection whatever 
to letting the Secretary of the Treasury permit the city 
of Thomasville to maintain it as a park at their expense. 

Mr. Park. Then, Mr. Speaker, considering the gentle- 
man's objection, I offer this amendment to meet his ob- 
jection. 

The Speaker. The Clerk will read it for information. 

The Clerk read as follows: 

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu 
thereof the following: 

" That the said post-office site, except where buildings, further 
addition, and approaches are now or may hereafter be located, 
may, in the discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury, be used 
as a public park, to be known as Roddenbery Park, to be main- 
tained by the city of Thomasville under regulations prescribed 
from time to time by the Secretary of the Treasury. 

" That the Secretary of the Treasury be, and he is hereby, 
authorized, in his discretion, to accept conveyance of title to 
the land between the post-office site and Madison Street in the 
city of Thomasville, Ga., and the said land so acquired shall there- 
upon become a part of said post-office site: Provided, That the 
said enlarged post-office site, except where buildings, further 
additions, and approaches are now or may hereafter be located, 
may, in, the discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury, be used 
as a public park, to be known as Roddenbery Park, to be main- 
tained by the city of Thomasville under regulations to be pre- 
scribed from time to time by the Secretary of the Treasury." 

Mr. Mann. Mr. Speaker, I understand from the gentle- 
man that if the bill is now considered, he proposes to offer 
that amendment? 

Mr. Park. Yes; and withdraw the other. 

The Speaker. Is there objection? [After a pause.] The 
Chair hears none. This bill is on the Union Calendar. 



[94] 



Proceedings in the House 



Mr. Park. Mr. Speaker, I ask for unanimous consent that 
the bill be considered in the House as in Committee of the 
Whole. 

The Speaker. The gentleman from Georgia asks unan- 
imous consent that this bill be considered as in Committee 
of the Whole. Is there objection? 

There was no objection. 

Mr. Mann. Mr. Speaker, I notice that the amendment 
starts out, "That the said post-office site." It ought to 
read — 

That the post-office site in the city of Thomasville, Ga. 

Mr. Park. I accept the amendment, Mr. Speaker. 

The Speaker. The question is on the amendment offered 
by the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Mann] to the amend- 
ment of the gentleman from Georgia [Mr. Park]. 

The Clerk read the amendment, as follows : 

In line 1 of the amendment strike out the words " said post- 
office site " and insert in lieu thereof the words " post-office site 
in the city of Thomasville, Ga." 

The amendment to the amendment was agreed to. 

The Speaker. The question is on the amendment offered 
by the gentleman from Georgia [Mr. Park] as amended by 
the Mann amendment. 

The amendment as amended was agreed to. 

The bill as amended was ordered to be engrossed and 
read a third time, and was accordingly read the third time 
and passed. 

Mr. Mann. Mr. Speaker, I suggest that the title be 
amended in accordance with the amendment to conform 
to the text of the bill. 

The Speaker. If there be no objection, the title will be 
amended to conform to the text of the bill. 

There was no objection. 



[95] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Roddenbery 

On motion of Mr. Park, a motion to reconsider the last 
vote was laid on the table. 

The announcement of the result was received with 
applause. 

Monday, July 27, 19U 

A message from the Senate, by Mr. Crockett, one of its 
clerks, announced that the Senate had passed the follow- 
ing resolutions: 

Resolved, That the Senate has heard with deep regret the 
announcement of the death of Hon. Seaborn Anderson Rodden- 
bery, late a Representative from the State of Georgia, which 
occurred September 26, 1913. 

Resolved, That as a mark of respect to the memory of the 
deceased Representative the business of the Senate be now sus- 
pended in order to pay proper tribute to his high character and 
distinguished public services. 

Resolved, That the Secretary communicate a copy of these 
resolutions to the House of Representatives and to the family of 
the deceased. 



[96] 



Proceedings in the Senate 
Monday, September 29, 191k 

A message from the House of Representatives, by J. G. 
South, its Chief Clerk, communicated to the Senate the 
intelligence of the death of Hon. Seaborn Anderson Rod- 
denbery, late a Representative from the State of Georgia, 
and the resolutions of the House thereon. 

The Vice President. The Chair lays before the Senate 
resolutions from the House of Representatives, which 
will be read. 

The Secretary read the resolutions, as follows: 

In the House of Representatives 

of the United States, 

September 27, 1913. 

Resolved, That the House has heard with profound sorrow of 
the death of Hon. Seaborn Anderson Roddenrery, a Representa- 
tive from the State of Georgia. 

Resolved, That a committee of 18 Members of the House, with 
such Members of the Senate as may be joined, be appointed to 
attend the funeral. 

Resolved, That the Sergeant at Arms of the House be authorized 
and directed to take such steps as may be necessary for carry- 
ing out the provisions of these resolutions, and that the neces- 
sary expenses in connection therewith be paid out of the con- 
tingent fund of the House. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the 
Senate and transmit a copy thereof to the family of the deceased. 

Resolved, That, as a further mark of respect, this House do 
now adjourn. 

In accordance with the foregoing resolution the Speaker ap- 
pointed as the committee on the part of the House the following 
Members: Mr. Bartlett, Mr. Adamson, Mr. Hughes of Georgia, Mr. 
Lee of Georgia, Mr. Hardwick, Mr. Walker, Mr. Crisp, Mr. Ed- 
wards, Mr. Tribble, Mr. Howard, Mr. Bell of Georgia, Mr. Hill, 

57974'— 14 7 [97] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Roddenbery 

Mr. Godwin of North Carolina, Mr. Maguire of Nebraska, Mr. 
McLaughlin, Mr. Hamilton of Michigan, Mr. Moore, and Mr. Willis. 

Mr. Kern. Mr. President, in the necessary absence of 
the Senators from Georgia, I offer the resolutions which 
I send to the desk, and ask for their present consider- 
ation. 

The resolutions were read, considered by unanimous 
consent, and unanimously agreed to, as follows : 

Resolved, That the Senate has heard with deep sensibility the 
announcement of the death of Hon. Seaborn Anderson Rodden- 
bery, late a Representative from the State of Georgia, which 
death occurred on September 26, 1913. 

Resolved, That the action of the Vice President in appointing 
a committee of seven Senators, to wit, Mr. Bacon, Mr. Smith of 
Georgia, Mr. Martine of New Jersey, Mr. Fletcher, Mr. Thomas, 
Mr. Gronna, and Mr. Borah, to join the committee appointed on 
the part of the House of Representatives to attend the funeral of 
the deceased, at Thomasville, Ga., be hereby approved. 

Resolved, That the Secretary communicate a copy of these reso- 
lutions to the House of Representatives and to the family of the 
deceased. 

Mr. Kern. I move, as a further mark of respect to the 
memory of the deceased, that the Senate do now adjourn. 

The motion was unanimously agreed to, and (at 12 
o'clock and 36 minutes p. m.) the Senate adjourned until 
Wednesday, October 1, 1913, at 12 o'clock meridian. 

Tuesday, July 21, 19U 

A message from the House of Representatives, by J. C. 
South, its Chief Clerk, announced that the House had 
passed the following bill, in which it requested the con- 
currence of the Senate: 

H. R. 15110. An act authorizing the Secretary of the 
Treasury to accept conveyance of title to certain land T 

1 Named Roddenbery Park by act of Congress in honor of the late Hon. 
Seaborn Anderson Roddenbery, of Georgia. 

[98] 



Proceedings in the Senate 



between the post-office site and Madison Street, in the 
city of Thomasville, Ga., which was read twice by its 
title and referred to the Committee on Public Buildings 
and Grounds. 

Monday, July 27, 19Vf 

Mr. Smith of Georgia. Mr. President, it had been the 
purpose this morning of the junior Senator from Georgia 
[Mr. West] to ask that the House resolutions upon the 
death of late Representative Roddenbery, of Georgia, be 
laid before the Senate. He has, however, been called 
away necessarily to the White House, and I ask unani- 
mous consent that, even though the business of the morn- 
ing hour be finished, the Senator from Georgia may be 
allowed this morning to call up the resolutions to which 
I refer. 

Mr. Cummins. I did not hear distinctly the statement of 
the Senator from Georgia. 

Mr. Smith of Georgia. I have suggested that the junior 
Senator from Georgia desires to call up this morning the 
House resolutions on the death of late Representative 
Roddenbery, of Georgia, and to ask action thereon, but he 
has been called out of the Senate on business and was 
compelled to respond. I ask unanimous consent that 
upon his return during the day he may be allowed to call 
up these resolutions, even though it be after the morning 
hour. 

Mr. Cummins. That is, to call up resolutions during the 
consideration of the Federal trade commission bill? If 
we have a morning hour to-morrow, the Senator from 
Georgia, of course, could then call up the resolutions. 

Mr. Smith of Georgia. I do not think we will have ;i 
morning hour to-morrow. That is the reason why I am 
so anxious to get the resolutions disposed of to-day. 



[99] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Roddenbery 

Mr. Cummins. Is not the suggestion of the Senator from 
Georgia one of the reasons why we should have a morning 
hour? 

Mr. Smith of Georgia. Yes; but there are other reasons 
why we should not. 

Mr. Cummins. Which are the stronger reasons? 

Mr. Smith of Georgia. I think those that we should not. 

Mr. Cummins. Very well, then, Mr. President. 

The Vice President. The Chair lays before the Senate 
resolutions of the House of Representatives which will be 
read. 

The Secretary read as follows : 

In the House of Representatives of the United States, 

February 8, 19U. 

Resolved, That the business of the House be now suspended 
that opportunity may be given for tributes to the memory of 
Hon. Seaborn Anderson Roddenbery, late a Member of this 
House from the State of Georgia. 

Resolved, That, as a particular mark of respect to the memory 
of the deceased and in recognition of his distinguished public 
career, the House at the conclusion of these exercises shall stand 
adjourned. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the 
Senate. 

Resolved, That the Clerk send a copy of these resolutions to the 
family of the deceased. 

Mr. Smith of Georgia. Mr. President, I regret the ab- 
sence of the junior Senator from Georgia [Mr. West], who 
is at the White House. He had intended at this time to 
present the following resolutions, which I present for him, 
and which I send to the desk and ask to have read. 

The Secretary read the resolutions, as follows: 

Resolved, That the Senate has heard with deep regret the 
announcement of the death of Hon. Seaborn Anderson Rodden- 
bery, late a Representative from the State of Georgia, which 
occurred September 26, 1913. 



[100] 



Proceedings in the Senate 



Resolved, That as a mark of respect to the memory of the 
deceased Representative the business of the Senate be now sus- 
pended in order to pay proper tribute to his high character and 
distinguished public services. 

Resolved, That the Secretary communicate a copy of these reso- 
lutions to the House of Representatives and to the family of the 
deceased. 

Mr. Smith of Georgia. Mr. President, the House h;is 
passed a bill authorizing the ground around the Govern- 
ment building at Thomasville, where Mr. Roddenbery 
lived, to be known as Roddenbery Park, and authorizing 
the Secretary of the Treasury to accept from the city 
several other blocks that the city intends to give to the 
Government around the Government building, the entire 
ground to be called Roddenbery Park. The House bill 
authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to make rules 
and regulations by which the city of Thomasville is to 
maintain Roddenbery Park. 

For the Senator from Virginia [Mr. Swanson] I report 
back favorably from the Committee on Public Buildings 
and Grounds the bill H. R. 15110 and ask unanimous con- 
sent for its immediate consideration and, as a compliment 
to Mr. Roddenbery's memory, to have it passed unani- 
mously by the Senate as it was passed unanimously by 
the House. I ask that the bill be considered at this time. 

The Vice President. Is there objection? 

Mr. Gallinger. Let the bill be read. 

Mr. Cummins. I do not understand that this is to be con- 
sidered as a precedent. 

Mr. Smith of Georgia. I do not think it will be a prece- 
dent. 

The Secretary read the bill, as follows : 

A bill (H. R. 15110) authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to accept con- 
veyance of title to certain land between the post-office site and Madison 
Street in the city of Thomasville, Ga. 

Be it enacted, etc., That the post-office site, except where build- 
ings, further addition, and approaches are now or may here- 

[101] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Roddenbery 

alter be located, may, in the discretion of the Secretary of the 
Treasury, be used as a public park, to be known as Roddenbery 
Park, to be maintained by the city of Thomasville, under regu- 
lations prescribed from time to time by the Secretary of the 
Treasury. 

That the Secretary of the Treasury be, and he is hereby, author- 
ized, in his discretion, to accept conveyance of title to the land 
between the post-office site and Madison Street, in the city of 
Thomasville, Ga., and the said land so acquired shall thereupon 
become part of said post-office site: Provided, That the said 
enlarged post-office site, except where buildings, further addi- 
tions, and approaches are now or may hereafter be located, may, 
in the discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury, be used as a 
public park, to be known as Roddenbery Park, to be maintained 
by the city of Thomasville, under regulations to be prescribed 
from time to time by the Secretary of the Treasury. 

There being no objection, the Senate, as in Committee 
of the Whole, proceeded to consider the bill. 

The bill was reported to the Senate without amend- 
ment, ordered to a third reading, read the third time, and 
passed. 



[102] 



MEMORIAL ADDRESS 



Address of Mu. Smith, of Georgia 

Mr. President: Seaborn Anderson Roddenbery, one of 
the best men who ever came from Georgia to the House 
of Representatives, died in the very prime of manhood. 
Young though he was, he had accomplished much. From 
his earliest youth he was a worker. His activities were 
divided between the farm and the study. Sturdily he 
labored tilling the soil, yet never failed to avail himself 
of every means to gratify his thirst for knowledge. No 
man ever entered legislative halls better equipped 
than he. 

Born on a farm in 1870, he was educated in the com- 
mon schools of his county and at Mercer University. 
After leaving the university he taught school and studied 
law. When less than 20 years of age he was professor of 
languages and mathematics at the South Georgia Col- 
lege. When little more than 21 he was sent to the legisla- 
ture by the people of Thomas County, and there served 
his State for two years. In rapid succession he was mayor 
of Thomasville, president of the board of education of 
Thomas County, judge of the county court for four years, 
and finally a Representative in Congress. 

Judge Roddenbery was essentially a man of the people. 
His sympathies were with them, and they knew it. None 
so poor, none so humble, but felt free to go to him at any 
time for counsel or assistance. Always that counsel was 
given without ostentation; always that aid was rendered 
with painstaking care. Like all strong men, he was gen- 
tle in his bearing, patient, tolerant in his attitude toward 

F103] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Roddenbery 

the opinions of others, while holding firmly to his own 
carefully formed convictions. 

Judge Roddenbery's life made for the uplift of the race. 
His thoughts and acts ennoble life. He left the world 
better for having lived and labored in it. He was a man 
in whose association and friendship there was genuine 
inspiration. It will always be a source of pleasure to me 
to have known him and to have been able to count him a 
true friend. 

It can be said of him with absolute truth that selfish- 
ness was not in him. As in private life so in his public 
career, the noblest altruism governed his every act. His 
protestations of solicitude for his people were not mere 
lip service; they came from the heart. Every one of his 
constituents had an ever-present claim upon his services. 
This service was rendered freely, ungrudgingly; not from 
any sense of obligation, personal or political, but because 
he loved to help and do kind deeds. " I serve " was the 
motto which ruled every moment of his life. 

As a Member of the House of Representatives he bore 
himself modestly but with firm adherence to principles 
he had established and convictions he had formed. His 
voice and his vote were untrammeled. Flattery and ap- 
plause he heeded little, and censure did not move him. 

This phase of his character is strikingly illustrated in 
his record on pension legislation. He had made a study 
of the process of lawmaking whereby the pension pay- 
ments of the Government have been brought to their 
present inexcusable proportions, notwithstanding the fact 
that the Union survivors of the War between the States 
are dying by the thousands every year. Judge Rodden- 
bery, while entertaining the kindest feelings for the inva- 
lid veterans, utterly repudiated the theory of increasingly 
liberal bounty to persons who had not borne the brunt of 
the strife. He reached the conclusion that much of this 



[104 



Address of Mr. Smith, of Georgia 



latter-day pension legislation was pure graft, and with 
this conviction firmly fixed in his mind he combated every 
proposition which in his opinion went beyond the hounds 
of justice and the moral obligations of the Government. 

Bill after bill was met by his opposition. His argu- 
ments — persistently, consistently, and insistently inveigh- 
ing against surrendering the hard-earned money of the 
working people to what he looked upon as the loot of 
the Treasury — were cutting as the Damascene blade. He 
did not deal in rounded phrases of flowery rhetoric, but 
struck with all the force that outraged conviction and in- 
tensest indignation could lend to his words. 

It was a fight foreordained to defeat. He must have 
felt that he was leading a forlorn hope against every one 
of the acts he antagonized. Only a mere handful of 
men came to his aid, and with him were overwhelmed in 
the onslaught. Undaunted he returned to the fray. De- 
feat could not conquer his purpose. He fought for the 
right as he saw the right. From the path he had marked 
out for himself neither the pleadings of friends nor the 
taunt of adversaries could swerve him. 

Perhaps I am dwelling too long upon this incident of 
Judge Roddenbery's work as a Member of the House of 
Representatives, but I do so because it illumines more 
clearly than any other the pervading trait of his charac- 
ter — adherence to righteous purpose. Among the last 
words he uttered before his spirit fled from this mortal 
tenement were these : " I have lived my convictions." 
His convictions — they were the guiding star in every 
act of his life. How few and far between are the men 
who at the close of their lives can lay that comfort to 
their souls. 

Judge Roddenbery was a tireless student. His reading 
was broad. It embraced every field of thought. Classic 
lore was to him familiar ground. From the history of 

[105] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Roddenbery 

nations he never failed to find useful lessons. In philo- 
sophical literature he took especial delight. His chosen 
profession — the law — had in him a most conscientious, 
untiring member. His keen analytical habit of thought 
made him strong before the bench. Before juries he was 
almost irresistible. 

He was devoted to agriculture. With him the culti- 
vation of the soil was not a mere breadwinning occupa- 
tion. He felt that agriculture is the mainstay of the State 
and the farmer the most important factor in the eco- 
nomic life of the Nation. While he delighted in sowing 
the seed, watching the growth of the crops, and rejoiced 
in the harvest, it was his pleasure to trace the history 
of agriculture even to the farthest antiquity. 

Nor was he content simply to absorb stores of knowl- 
edge. He delighted in giving it currency among his 
friends and neighbors. He was always ready to respond 
to a summons to address meetings of farmers and give 
them the benefit of his studious research. Of all the 
membership of the Congress none surpassed him in the 
scrutiny of the publications emanating from the Depart- 
ment of Agriculture. Nothing pleased him more than to 
be able to point out to his people some new way of en- 
riching the soil and how to make two blades of grass 
grow where before there grew but one. It has been said : 

He is indeed the wisest and the happiest man who, by con- 
stant attention of thought, discovers the greatest opportunity of 
doing good, and with ardent and animated resolution breaks 
through every opposition that he may improve these opportuni- 
ties. 

To no man that I have ever known do these words 
apply with more striking force than to Anderson Rod- 
denbery. 

Mr. President, in contemplating the career of a public 
man and seeking to pronounce deserved eulogium upon 

[106] 



Address of Mr. Smith, of Georgia 



him, we sometimes lose sight of his private life; and yet 
some of the most beautiful lessons may be drawn from 
the life in the home. 

The sphere of harmony and peace, 

The spot where angels find a resting place 

When, bearing blessings, they descend to earth. 

Rare Ben Jonson said that — 

To be happy at home is the ultimate result of all ambition; the 
end to which every enterprise and labor tend, and of which 
every desire prompts the prosecution. 

Such happiness my friend enjoyed. His home was the 
mainspring that set in motion all his energies. In his 
home centered his dearest affections, his aspirations, his 
ambitions. To bring happiness to that home and to the 
loved ones who dwelt therein was the highest aim of his 
rarely beautiful life. There the gentlest side of his nature 
unfolded itself like a beautiful flower. There his affec- 
tions had their fullest play. There he loved and was 
beloved by wife and children. In his home the strife 
of the world was stilled; it was, indeed, to him a sacred 
refuge. 

So, also, was Judge Roddenbery blessed in his friend- 
ships. In him the elements of strength and gentleness 
were so blended that he attracted men as naturally as 
the magnet draws the iron. They felt that they could 
place reliance upon his every word. They knew that he 
would not fail them in any strait. No wonder, then, thai 
when his remains were borne to their last resting place 
among his people there was mourning in all the coun- 
ties of his district. It was as if every family had lost one 
of its household. He has written his epitaph in the hearts 
of all of them, and we may regard it inscribed there as it 
was expressed in a letter from the aged pastor who re- 



[107] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Roddenbery 

ceived him into the church and who pronounced the last 
benediction at the grave. That venerable man wrote : 

He was the friend and adviser of the poor. For the struggling 
boy or girl who desired an education his means were largely em- 
ployed. He was the friend that you could count on at all times 
and under all circumstances. He was bold and aggressive in 
his advocacy of what he conceived to be right; true and loyal 
to his friends and to the cause he espoused. 

Mankind, Mr. President, is under obligations to a man 
for great thoughts, or great deeds, or great devotion to 
principle, for clean living, and for the good example it 
sets. Measured by that standard, we owe a great debt 
to the memory of our departed friend, which best we 
may discharge by trying to live as he lived; to be moved 
by the loftiest dictates of patriotism; to crush selfish- 
ness; to strive, as he strove, to obey the injunction of 
the Master, to do unto others even as we would that 
others do unto us. 

It is not given to frail human nature to attain perfec- 
tion, but each and every one of us may well be satisfied 
if when the final summons comes he can say to himself, 
as did Anderson Roddenbery, " I have lived my con- 
victions." 

I move the adoption of the resolutions. 

The resolutions were unanimously agreed to. 



[108] 






" 



